


My boyfriend's boyfriend is my boyfriend too

by JanaRumpandRCJawnn (JanaRumpandRCClara)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Getting Together, M/M, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-05-30 10:24:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6420001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JanaRumpandRCClara/pseuds/JanaRumpandRCJawnn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or how polyamory might be a wonderful concept.<br/>(that Kenma's roommates have a hard time grasping)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How to crush on your roommates by Akaashi Keiji

**Author's Note:**

> The Tokyo Ot4 fic we have been dreaming of writing for 2 months  
> (it's all done to chapter 3, and I'll finish 4 by the end of this week so updates on Thursdays?)  
> Anyway hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Akaashi Keiji didn’t know how to handle the three strangers living in his apartment.

Yes, he had left ads all over the campus hoping someone would answer, he just hadn’t expected to have three roommates within the week, and he hadn’t expected them to look like this.

The first person to contact him had been Kozume Kenma. He was Akaashi’s age, his parents lived at a two hour drive from the university and he needed to be closer, or that was what his parents said when they came to sign a contract. The guy didn’t talk a lot, but he had a job and seemed mostly harmless, the kind who wouldn’t miss out payments or bring drama home. Which was exactly the sort of person he wanted to share an apartment with. Kozume had rented half of the major room and then moved in (with a bunch of videogames and other gaming shit) within two days. He didn’t speak, he barely looked at Akaashi, which was both disconcerting and a relief.

The second one to become his roommate had been Bokuto Koutarou. Weird and loud were the first words that came to mind. When he'd come to check the place, he had been so excited by the view and the fact that it was in front of a park he literally agreed to rent right away. He didn’t have a job, but his parents had money and were supporting him. He got a solo room and dragged a bunch of paraphernalia that crowded their hall for a day and a half (photography stuff, weights and a sculpture of an owl, of all things). He had scared Kenma and made Akaashi tired just by looking at him, but he seemed a nice person and was friendly enough to make their landlord shut up.

The third and final person to answer his ads had been Kuroo Tetsurou. The guy wasn’t in college, but he was applying, currently had three jobs and needed to live somewhere where he would have an easier time moving around. Something about him made Akaashi feel a bit concerned, like he was being watched by a cat, a big and slightly creepy cat. On the other hand, the guy was really smart and had a steady income. He rented the other half of Kenma’s room, and unlike Bokuto he didn’t scare anyone. He brought all his stuff (not much, only two boxes and a duffel bag) the day he signed the contract.

This was their first weekend after they all had moved in, and weirdly enough everyone seemed to have thought it was a great idea to stay home at a Saturday night. Not that he usually left home on weekends, law school was very time consuming, but he had imagined at least Bokuto to be a more outgoing kind. Still, the guy was sitting on the living room floor with ridiculous headphones on and scribbling something on his notebook. Kuroo had arrived from work not long ago and then flopped face first on the couch, occupying it all. Kenma, on the other hand, was sitting on a corner near his bedroom’s door and playing with his DS.

Keiji had planned on spending a nice evening with indie music and his books on criminal law. Instead, he didn’t even seem to be able to get enough room on his couch to sit. He could go back to his room and lock himself inside, but he sort of wanted to see how the evening would develop (criminal law really wasn't much inviting, to be honest), so he walked over to Kuroo and poked his back.

“Excuse me, can I have some room?”

The other man mumbled something, staring at him for a few seconds before sitting up. He looked like someone had run him over with a truck. Akaashi wasn’t going to ask him about it though, it seemed like it wasn’t the sort of thing they had the intimacy to talk about. Bokuto, on the other hand, let his head fall back and peered at Kuroo.

“Which shift made you look like this?”

“I just got back from the delivery job, but I’m tired because of the Vet job. We got a new intern, this kid named Lev.”

“What's his problem?” Now Bokuto had completely forfeited whatever he was doing in favor of talking to Kuroo.

“He always arrives late and with a new cat for the shelter. And he is too self-confident, even if he has zero knowledge to back it up. I was trying to teach him how to give a dog bath, and he still hasn’t learned a thing.”

“Sounds though, dude.”

“Yeah, I can barely wait to find myself a sugar daddy and never work again.” Kuroo sighed, sliding to the floor.

Bokuto laughed and Akaashi might have smirked a bit as the loudest of his roommates perked up.

“I can be your sugar daddy!"

“No, you can’t, your parents pay for everything you need.” Came the really unexpected voice from Kozume on the other side of the room.

Kuroo laughed at the comment and turned to face him before turning back to Akaashi and Bokuto.

“I have an Idea. Since we are all home, perhaps we could play a round of Mario kart? Kenma owns a Wii, right?”

It was incredibly surprising that instead of running back to his room, like he did every time Bokuto or Akaashi tried to talk to him, when it was Kuroo Kozume just lowered his eyes a bit more.

“Maybe I do.”

“We all could have a gaming night, what do you think?”

Akaashi could see this working. He wasn’t particularly fond of living with people he didn’t even exchange words with - which might work for some, but Akaashi liked people, liked understanding them.

“That actually sounds good. I suppose my studies can wait for an hour or two.”

Bokuto threw his arms on the air, smile so bright it was impossible not to smile back to him.

“That’s super cool! Kenma, mind setting everything up? I’ll make us some popcorn and grab a few drinks.” He was already up and going to the kitchen, humming excitedly, too much so for the situation. Perhaps Bokuto didn’t have as many friends as Keiji had assumed.

“Akaashi, can you help me get everything?” Kozume didn't look at him while he spoke, but Akaashi followed him right away. The room was still pretty empty on Kuroo's side, he noticed, only sporting a new shelf full of classic literature. Kenma didn't say a word, just grabbed the console and wii motes before going back to the living room. Akaashi really didn't want to continue this almost radio silence, but what do you say to someone who barely shares five words before shutting you out?

"So, Kozume... You have a lot of controls. Your friends usually play with you?"

"No. My parents got me those so we could have family night. They didn't like it, though."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Keiji was used to being a sort of disappointment to his parents, too. No matter how he tried, they just wanted so much from him. Family nights were inexistent in the Akaashi household.

"No, you're not. You're being polite."

"You're right."

"That's so cute, you two interacting." Kuroo's teasing voice came from behind them, and Keiji turned to stare at him, whose shit eating grin annoyed him more than he expected.

Bokuto came back then, handing glasses of soda to everyone and putting a bowl of popcorn on the middle of the coffee table.

"Let's start this! I'll kick all of your asses!"

Akaashi rolled his eyes and grabbed a remote. When in Rome do like the Romans, when in the middle of a bunch of videogame fans, play the freaking game.

-4-

"Akaaaaaashi!" Bokuto shouted from across the market shelf.

And Keiji regretted everything that had led up to this moment. He could trace it all back to his apartment not even half an hour ago. He had opened the fridge and faced his shelf's terrible emptiness. He had just gotten back from class, he wanted to eat and he couldn't avoid doing groceries anymore. Keiji was a responsible adult and that meant he needed to do his own shopping.

It was a surprise that both Kuroo's and Kozume's spaces were neatly arranged and full. When did these two find time for that? One was always out working or hanging in the weirdest positions reading books, the other barely left his room and didn't strike him like the kind of person who would willingly go shopping.

Bokuto had shown up as Akaashi stared at the fridge, complaining loudly he didn't have anything to eat while pulling an all night to finish a project.

And Akaashi Keiji had said the words, the stupid dreadful words that had led him to this moment. _"Why don't we go together to the mini-market?"_

And now here he was. Bokuto might only know Keiji for two weeks and a half, but he acted like it was actually years. He was literally running towards him with a bunch of candy in his arms.

"We can have this for the next gaming night!" He dropped them all in the cart, with a smile so wide it seemed painful.

"That's not happening anytime soon."

"Come on, Kenma can't still be angry I broke his wiimote! Kuroo was the one who used a fucking blue shell on me."

The night had been a disaster. Kozume had actually seemed shocked when it happened, and Kuroo had just stared at them with his eyes wide like he was watching a car crash.

"He actually said he was angry at you."

"But I bought him a new one!"

Keiji frowned at the vegetables in front of him. Kozume was still avoiding Bokuto and any mention of a gaming night made him freeze up. He didn't seem like the sort of person who would have such an attachment to a controller. Which meant-

"Have you remembered giving it to him?"

His roommate's eyes widened and he facepalmed.

"Shit! I forgot!"

He then proceed to sag, and lean his forehead against Akaashi's shoulder. It would have shocked him more if over these two weeks he hadn't learned Bokuto was a bit more attached to touching than it would be recommended. He patted the light hair twice before going back to picking potatoes.

"I'm the worst roommate..."

"No, you're not, Bokuto. I'm pretty sure there are worse roommates."

He shouldn't have tried to comfort, because now Bokuto was hugging him and positively beaming. Akaashi didn't blush, but he did freeze up. There were people staring at them, it was so embarassing. Still, he cold tell it would only be worse if he tried stopping Bokuto, he'd already seen what happened when this idiot felt no one liked him. Never again. It was too troublesome.

"Did you get everything you needed?"

The older man stepped back, thinking. He proceeded to start counting in his fingers, listing everything, which he obviously wasn't very successful at, as he seemed to get more and more annoyed. Akaashi took a deep breath and patted his roommate's shoulder.

"You got the candies, you got coffee, some frozen meals for the week. Did you get something to drink and some snacks?"

"I don't think so. Thanks, Akaashi!"

Another too bright and too sincere smile. Keiji couldn't stare at him when Bokuto did that, it was a bit like staring at the sun (a sun with weird owl eyes, but still). And as his roomate was off to grab the rest of his things Akaashi took his own list and proceeded to cross out some items.

After a few minutes waiting, though, Bokuto didn't come back and he started getting worried. If he lost Bokuto here, he was pretty sure the guy couldn't find his way back to their apartment, plus he would feel terrible. He wandered around the small store, looking after the guy, only to find him helping a little boy get some snacks from the top shelves. It was sort of adorable.

The kid's mom was watching as Bokuto picked up her son, and Akaashi stood there as well. The boy smiled so openly, and both of them seemed so pleased. It was very nice is different ways, specially seeing Bokuto's muscles at work. All these weights he had brought apparently were indeed being put to use.

"Akaashi!" The call took him from his revery, which he covered fairly well. He hoped.

"Yes, Bokuto?"

"Did you see how cool I am? The kid even called me a big brother!"

"Did he? I wasn't paying attention."

That was seemingly upsetting enough to earn very dramatic complaints. There was a giggle though, and they both stopped to stare at the woman and her son still standing behind them.

"You two are a very cute couple."

"Oh, we are not-" Bokuto started, but Keiji stopped him. It was no use overexplaining everything. They had already spent too much time here.

"Thank you. Let's go pay, Bokuto. Didn't you have to give Kozume the control you bought?"

And that was all his roommate needed to go back into overexcited mode. They said their goodbyes to mother and child and went together to pay for their groceries. Now Akaashi couldn't stop thinking that everyone who saw them thought they were a couple, and a cute one it seemed.

-3-

Everything had gone back to normal in their apartment. Bokuto had indeed given the control back to Kozume, who now had gone back to sharing environments with them.

Last night around three in the morning he'd had a strange conversation with Kuroo, though. It didn't seem liked a real thing that had happened, but it had. It had _so_ happened, for so many hours, that now he was walking around like a fucking zombie.

He had scheduled to meet Kozume at the campus coffee shop, since neither of them had many friends and drinking coffee alone seemed like kind of a waste. He arrived a few minutes late, since some dude from his last class had managed to upset the teacher so much the man had given a twenty minute speech on the traditional family setting and why it was important that it be maintained. Akaashi didn't want to hear it, he just wanted to pass this hellish subject and move on.

Inside the coffee shop, he looked for his roommate for exactly fifty seconds before spotting the weirdest scene in his life.

Kozume Kenma was in line to get his coffee, with Bokuto of all people hugging him from behind and resting his chin on Kenma's hair. The smaller man was scratching the white hair with one hand and playing on his cellphone with the other.

The bizarre part was that it actually seemed very cute. Like, couple cute. It really hadn't occurred to him that those two could be together, and no matter he did find Bokuto hot, he would give them his whole support.

That was, when his mind finally accepted this was actually happening.

Bokuto spotted him first – of course he fucking did – and waved like an overexcited puppy (or baby bird, over excited baby bird was probably more on spot). Kozume looked up to Akaashi and back to his game, not paying him a lot of attention. He approached the couple (?), hands in his pockets and not looking at the people around him. Kozume did look at him then.

“We ordered your coffee already.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. You like yours black, with sugar and cinnamon, right? Kenma remembered it!” Bokuto seemed proud when he said so.

Keiji looked at Kozume who shrugged, seeming a bit embarrassed.

“Well, thanks. How much do I owe you guys?”

Kenma shrugged again. It was so hard to get a grasp of what he was really feeling, so Keiji just stood beside them as Bokuto narrated his day loudly enough so all the shop could hear. It was somewhat fascinating that he managed to remain blissfully unaware of everything. Eventually, it was their turn, and Akaashi grabbed the drinks to hand over - Bokuto's was one of those really fancy iced coffees and Kenma's was a simple hot beverage - and then they all sat at one of the corner table. Akaashi talked a bit about his classes, and nothing worth mentioning happened until Kozume looked up from his game to suddenly focus on him.

“Maybe you could stop calling me Kozume. No one calls me that.”

Akaashi stared at him for a few seconds before nodding and continuing to talk about his day, which was comforting, something he used to do with his family. Bokuto actually seemed interested, even asking questions.

Kenma wasn’t looking straight at him while he spoke, but every once in a while he would notice those hazel eyes glancing at him, shyly. Akaashi meant to ask if the two of them were together, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Aside from the scene earlier today, nothing else in the way they acted indicated it. Bokuto actually stared at him a lot, with that smirk of his, and if he didn’t know better he'd think that the other was flirting. That was when Bokuto's cellphone beeped and, before Akaashi could even ask what was happening, the guy was out the door. Keiji sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

“He is very troublesome.” Kenma added before taking another sip of his coffee. “And for some reason my friend Hinata thinks I’m dating him.”

“Really?” Akaashi hoped he hid well his own impression, then.

“Yes. I can see where he took that from, but it half annoys me that he hasn’t stopped.”

Keiji just nodded in sympathy. Between Kenma and himself there weren’t any sudden outbursts, their talks were very brief. Still, he liked to think that this wasn’t the weird silence of people who didn’t know each other, but the building up of trust.

-2-

“I can’t believe they talked us into this.” Kenma declared as they were walking to the station.

Akaashi was by his side, a bit behind Kuroo and Bokuto. They couldn’t afford to be too far behind, because then the two idiots would stop and come drag them along.

“I can’t either.”

The _this_ in question was a house party. One of Bokuto’s classmates had invited him, and he'd obviously invited all of his roommates as well. Kuroo had only been too happy to accept, had even managed to get someone to cover for him at work. Kenma and Akaashi had both refused, but then Bokuto made puppy eyes and Kuroo promised that the moment the two wanted to leave all of them would. And they had ended up here.

When they arrived at the station, Kuroo turned back with a smile - an actual smile, not even a smirk.

“I’m really glad you guys joined us.”

Keiji did his best to maintain his uninterested pose, even though he could see that this was the sort of things people would blush at (Kozume had at least). He just stared.

“You still owe us one, Pain-in-the-ass-Kuroo-san.”

“Geez, Akaashi. And I thought you were the chill, polite one.”

He just sneered, and then got distracted when Bokuto shouted that their train was there. They hopped in, Kuroo and Kenma sitting side by side and Akaashi and Bokuto sitting opposite from them. He watched as Kuroo babbled on and Kenma played on his phone. Akaashi was starting to seriously worry about the frequency with which the word _'adorable’_ came to his mind when watching his roommates. It was sort of creepy. They weren’t even that cute.

“So, the party isn’t actually at this dude’s house, but at his “friend’s” house. Like, everyone knows they are banging, but Oikawa takes the closet to a whole new level.” Bokuto declared very loudly. “Everyone is going.”

“Everyone?”

“Yeah. Everyone from economy, I bunch of dance majors, and some other guys.”

“I hate crowded places.”

“Give it a chance.”

He rolled his eyes, and looked away.

The party was a at an apartment, actually a quite big apartment, and there were indeed a lot of people there. Some of them were familiar faces, people he had crossed paths with during his time in the campus. Barely three minutes had passed when a red haired blur jumped on Kenma, his smile too bright to be sober.

“Kenma! You came! Let’s go! Let’s drink!” He then turned to the rest of them. “Bokuto!”

“Hey, Hinata!”

“Do you mind if I steal Kenma for a while?”

“Not at all. Just bring him back safely.”

So this was the friend that thought they were together, then. Hinata looked at Kuroo and then at Akaashi, frowned a bit before the smile was back. Kenma waved at them and said he would be back, then was dragged away by the bubbly guy. It would be worrisome, if he didn't know Kenma could get away from anyone at anytime. Kuroo did shout a ‘scream if you need help’ and Keiji was 100% sure that Kenma would rather suffer through the rest of the night in silence than make such a fuss.

Not even half a minute later a handsome guy approached them, movie villain vibe all around him: queer and prone to too much self love.

“Bokuto, you came! And you weren’t lying when you said your roommates were hot.”

“Shittykawa, don’t hit on people you don’t even know the name of.” Another guy showed up, this one also very handsome, though in a I-could-bench-press-all-of-you kind of way.

Bokuto hooked his arm on Kuroo’s waist, pulling him closer, and promptly grabbed Akaashi’s arm, forcing him to stand next to them.

“This one is Akaashi Keiji, he’s sort of our landlord, goes to law school.”

The two guys waved at him. The pretty one making a comment about how he was almost as pretty – Akaashi refrained from commenting that he was definitely prettier. It seemed kind of petty considering this was probably the guy’s party.

“And this piece of eye-candy is Kuroo. He's like the most amazing guy ever.”

“Lies. You're the definition of a cool son of gun, Bokuto.”

Keiji rolled his eyes, and was about to bail to some dark corner and try to see if he could get the wifi password when the muscular guy turned to him.

“Akaashi, right? Can you help me get some things from the kitchen?”

He nodded and followed the man, letting Kuroo and Bokuto to their shenanigans. The man introduced himself as Iwaizumi Hajime and was actually a pleasant company. He took Keiji to some other people who were like him: not so loud but still witty enough, then eventually left saying something about having to check on Shittykawa.

Akaashi himself made sure he could keep his roommates in sight. Kenma and the red haired kid were drinking and talking, alongside a too tall and lanky boy and a too intense looking one. It was sort of weird to see Kozume in an environment like that, and even weirder to see him actually drinking. Bokuto and Kuroo on the other hand he wasn’t surprised at all to see guzzling down shot after shot, getting into several drinking games and talking to basically everyone at the party. Rarely stepping away from each other, though. Keiji drank too, Iwaizumi had gotten him some wine and he just might have drank the whole bottle by himself.

Some undefined time later Kenma showed up next him, right in the middle of a stare off with this guy named Mattsun.

“Akaashi, can we talk?”

“Yeah, sure.” He followed the smaller boy, wine bottle still held in a hand, and slight worry intruding his haze. Kenma got them a couch to sit on and they dropped there. “Any problem?”

“No. Hinata and Kageyama passed out, and Lev is trying to outdrink some dude.”

“I see… Wanna go home?”

“No.” Kenma reached over and grabbed the wine bottle, taking two hearty gulps of it before handing it back. “No trains at this time.”

“True.” He took another sip of the wine. 

Suddenly there was a commotion, apparently someone had changed the music and many were loudly complaining about "that hipster bullshit". Even with all that mess, Akaashi could see clearly Bokuto pulling Kuroo to the middle of the open space used as the dance floor, both laughing and obviously drunk. The song started slow, and they matched it, weirdly like something out of a romantic movie. As the song got a bit more agitated, they smiled and kept going, Bokuto’s hands on Kuroo’s, eyes staring deep at each chorus. They were in a moment that seemed completely theirs, spinning one another, their noses bumping, and Akaashi couldn’t decide if he would rather kiss them or watch them dancing together forever. When the song ended, the two stared at each other some more, and for a moment a kiss seemed like the natural progress of the whole scene. Instead, both men just started giggling and Bokuto hid his face on Kuroo’s neck. 

Akaashi turned to look at Kenma and realized they were both smiling. 

He was crushing on his roomates, and he was fucked. 

-

There were many nights he couldn’t sleep. 

He hated law school, but there wasn’t anything he was particularly interested in, so it was as good as anything else. Still, he felt like he should be doing something different. This was his life, though it didn’t feel like he was in control of it, he felt like he was just watching it pass. Bokuto was going to be a photographer, because that was his passion, Kenma was finishing his game app project, Kuroo had his three jobs and his dream to prove everyone wrong. The comparison hurt a bit, so sometimes he would just sit on the floor of their living room, a mug of tea in his hands, and try to calm down. 

More often than not, in nights like these, Kuroo would show up. 

Sometimes arriving from some late shift, other times coming out of his room. Today, it was one of the later. The man appeared at the door, dressed in a too large red sweater and pink leggings. It was annoying how he managed to look stylish even like that. 

“Can’t sleep again?” He asked, sitting next to Akaashi.

Keiji didn’t reply at first, just taking another sip of his tea. 

“I could ask the same.”

“I was studying, though I may have passed out in the middle of a chemistry exercise.” 

“Want some help?” 

“Nah. I can do it, just find it boring as fuck.”

There was silence for a while, before Keiji gave up and leaned his shoulder against Kuroo’s arm. 

“I hate it.”

“What? Chemistry?” The other man asked, typical smirk curling his lips. 

“No, this feeling. Like my life will always be a disappointment to everyone.” He didn’t know why he told Kuroo that, but it felt like he wouldn't judge, no matter how much a pain in the ass he was. 

“Well, I for one don’t think you’re a disappointment.” It seemed honest, though with an undercurrent that Keiji couldn't quite understand. 

“Yeah, because you know me so well.” 

He couldn’t contain the sarcasm, it was a bit too late in the evening for that. Kuroo sighed and let his head fall back before speaking up.

“Can I tell you a story?”

“Go ahead, not like I got anything better to do.”

“I was fourteen when I came out. I told my mom, and my mom is great, so she was fully supportive. She’s really great. My dad, though, my dad looked me in the eyes and said I wasn’t his son anymore, that he would go to jail but I wouldn’t have another penny of his. He said I disgusted him and I was a disappointment. My dad, the guy who used to play with me, who laughed at my jokes and hugged me. The guy who even after he and my mom got divorced never missed one visitation day. He hated me, and I felt like I was the worst person ever.” 

“I haven’t even told my parents yet.”

“You don’t have to. That was not what I was getting at.” 

“And what was that?”

“I was going to talk about how my mom made me realize, even if it took four years, that it wasn’t my fault my dad was disappointed, it was _his_ fucking fault. You don’t have to be what everyone else is. And dude, come on, you’re an amazing person. How many people would have your grades while studying something they don’t even care about?”

He couldn’t help but stare while Kuroo spoke, there was just so much honesty packed in there. He might have blushed a little, only a little, and hid his face on the other’s shoulder. Kuroo actually hugged him, chuckling a bit as he did so.

“No need to get so embarrassed, I know a compliment from me was all you ever wanted.” 

Akaashi didn’t even try to contain the impulse to punch Kuroo's side, who groaned and fell to the floor, dragging Keiji along with him. He wanted to complain, to call the other a pain in the ass and hit him one more time, because they'd been having a very nice moment and Kuroo’s ridiculous sense of humor had ruined everything. Except, when he moved to say that to his face, he realized what a cliché scene they were in right now, Akaashi laying on top of Tetsurou, their faces so bizarrely close. 

Nope, he was not going to do this. Not at all.

Keiji pushed himself away, rolling to the side and staring at the ceiling. He prayed in his mind that no one had noticed how he had almost... Almost kissed Kuroo. What was he thinking? It wouldn’t be fair, he was sort of their landlord, and he'd only known them for a month and a half- 

“Hey, Akaashi.”

He turned to look at Kuroo who was… Blushing? He just stared some more. Tetsurou smiled at him, and Akaashi wouldn’t say it aloud but those genuine smiles of his were something he would like to frame. He turned to lay on his side, so he could look at that for a little longer.

“Yes?”

“You’re really pretty, you know that?”

“I actually do.”

And again silence. Kuroo’s gaze hopped accross his face, stopping at his lips for a moment. And he realized he wanted it, wanted something more to happen. Perhaps because the last person he'd kissed had been some dude in a party eight months ago, but Akaashi was rusty, and it took him ten seconds to realize Kuroo wouldn’t be the one making a move. The other obviously had noticed the vibe, so why wouldn’t he go for it? Keiji slowly moved closer, his hand touching the other’s cheek, his thumb caressing it. Neither of them said a word. He moved closer and closer until their lips were touching. 

It wasn’t an intense kiss, it was nothing that would shake the foundations of the world. It was just perfect for the moment, slow but responsive, so he closed his eyes and he let it guide him. There were tongues and there were hands touching his hair and pulling him a bit closer. 

Just as subtly as it had started, Akaashi moved back. He blinked a few times at Kuroo, who smiled openly and arched an eyebrow. 

“Guess I’m pretty too.”

Keiji didn’t reply, instead rolling his eyes and sitting up. 

“I have to sleep.” He said, not quite to his roommate, just to the almost empty room. 

“Can I have a goodnight kiss at least?”

He stared at the man laying on the ground, perhaps a bit too annoyed by his teasing, got up and went back to his room. When he closed his door, Akaashi rested his forehead on the wood.

He couldn’t shake the feeling he had just set something in motion, and he had no idea where it was going.


	2. How to be Casual by Bokuto Koutarou

He moved very slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible, and then on the right moment he jumped and pressed the button. Akaashi actually yelped and jumped back, letting all the books and notebooks around him fall to the ground.

“What the fuck, Bokuto?!”

Bokuto beamed, sliding on the bed to sit next to Akaashi and pull him to a selfie.

“Attempt number 48 on getting a decent picture of Akaashi Keiji.”

The other man just sighed and rolled his eyes before pushing Bokuto away.

“I have to study, you know?”

Koutarou grabbed his camera and turned it around, looking at the two pictures he had just taken and was incredibly frustrated to find that they didn’t do justice to the beauty next to him. He wanted to scream at the heavens for an explanation, it wasn’t possible that he couldn’t capture all that beauty with his camera.

He let himself back on the bed and kicked the air in frustration. He wasn’t sure how long he remained there until Keiji patted his knee and told him to go bother someone else, which got him a bit down, but he did as he was told. He took along his camera and found Kenma being all cute, sitting on the floor underneath a window so he could bathe in sunlight. Or that was what Bokuto assumed he was doing. Even Kenma needed sun sometimes, right? He was ready to take the photo when, for the first time in the two months and a half they were living together, Kenma looked right at him through the camera.

“Bokuto, I want to paint my hair. Can you help?”

He could feel legit tears falling down his eyes, tears of pure happiness.

“Yeah, Kenma! Do you have the paint or do we have to go buy it?”

“Kuroo went to buy it.”

He sat in front of the guy, so happy that he could actually do something like this. He wanted to be friends with Kenma, but most of the time he had the distinct impression his presence was more tiring than anything else. He had that impression with most people, though, so it wasn’t even a shock.

“What do you want to do with your hair?”

“I want to paint it blond, but I want to leave the roots black.”

Koutarou frowned, staring at him and picturing it. Kenma would look a bit like a pudding, the cutest pudding alive. He could get behind that.

“Why is that?”

“I feel like it. My parents wouldn’t let me do it before.”

“Ho ho ho, I see. You want my help because I'm the most awesomely haired person here.”

He had started painting his when he was, like, seventeen, and had only managed to do it because his parents couldn’t care less about what he did to himself as long as it wasn’t harmful. It was not like they expected him to have a steady job or anything like that, Bokuto always would be the weird one in their family or anywhere he went anyway.

“I’ll help you, but please let me take before and after photos?”

Kenma looked away for one second before nodding. Bokuto smiled and punched the air, this was so great. He grabbed his camera, and managed to take an amazing photo of Kenma right then. The kid had this vibe, like a real cat, and he just found it just amazing.

“Hey hey hey hey.” Kuroo called from the entryway. “Got everything.”

“Hey hey hey, bro!” Bokuto got up and skipped towards him, grabbing the plastic bag and picking up the hair dye. “Let’s do this!”

“In the bathroom, or else Akaashi will kill us and charge more money for the trouble.” Kuroo added, pushing him to the bathroom and trusting Kenma would come along.

It wasn’t very big, so they had a bit of trouble settling around. Kuroo sat on the toilet , since he was unfairly tall, and Bokuto handed him the things so he could do the mix. Kenma stood there staring at him, in what Bokuto could only hope to be awe. He wasn’t very good at understanding all the nuances of the other’s facial expressions, so generally it was a great game of guessing. Not that he didn’t like it, Koutarou always thought it brought great emotion to his days.

Painting hair was never a great thing. The smell wasn’t one hundred percent pleasant, Kenma did not like the fact he had to stay with it for a long time, but it was all worth it in the end. Bokuto took a bunch of pics with his cell and sent them to Akaashi with the title “this could be us but you studying”. 

Now, He and Kuroo were waiting outside for the big revelation. It was hard to tell which one of them was more interested in the result. He had his camera on his hand, ready to take the “After” shot. Slowly the door opened and they waited very patiently as the smaller form came to light. And all the two man watching could say was.

“WOW.”

Kenma looked awesome. The blond hair suited him and made him look so cool. Bokuto may have said those things as he they came to mind, but he wasn’t very sure about it. He took another photo and those two would look so awesome once he put them on his Instagram account (and sent to Hinata, he liked the kid enough to do this). Kuroo on the other hand smiled and ran his fingers through Kenma’s hair.

“Did you like it, Kenma?”

“I don’t hate it.”

Kuroo sighed, but he didn’t actually look upset by the answer. Instead he smiled, throwing and arm over Kenma's shoulders.

“So I suppose you own Bokuto a thanks?”

The now blond actually seemed annoyed by that, giving Kuroo a look before muttering.

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

And the discussion continued going for a long time, even after Bokuto had gone back to his room he could hear Kuroo shouting his part from the door before going to work. It was actually so endearing and amusing, he wished this sort of think would happen more often.

Later he saw Akaashi complimenting Kenma on the hair, and it was actually kind of cute watching them interact. A part of him (the one who didn’t want to kiss Akaashi a lot) totally shipped them.

Eventually, he was _trying_ to study – in reality he had his book open on his lap and the notebook in front of him playing some game about an all girl mercenary company – when someone knocked on his door.

“Feel free to come in!”

He turned to see Kenma coming in, already dressed to sleep it seemed. Bokuto had to bite down his lip not to say something that was too teasing (contrary to popular belief, he did have something like self control). Instead he only raised an eyebrow and waited.

“I needed to thank you. It’s the polite thing to do.”

He couldn’t contain the smile though, because he knew Kenma could easily pretend he hadn’t listened to Kuroo’s teasing. If he had showed up here, it was because he wanted to.

“It’s okay. We're friends, no need to bother with formalities, right?”

“I suppose so.” He looked away for a moment, like he was unsure of what to do, until he saw the game on Bokuto’s screen, and he could see the interest shining somewhere on the ‘I-don’t-care’ sea.

“Have you played this?”

“Yeah... It’s sort of silly.”

“That’s it’s whole appeal! It’s silly and it’s great. Sure they could sexualize the girls a lot less, but oh well.”

Kenma sat next to him, actually listening and looking interested in what Bokuto said. They spent good two hours talking about various games and what they liked about it, what they didn’t like. What says friendship better than discussing which gaming app about fighting the darkness you like better? Kenma even told him about his project at work, which pleased

Bokuto more than he could tell since the only other person who knew about it was Kuroo and only because he shared a room with Kenma.

“Perhaps you can help me beta test it.”

“I would be so honored, Kenma!”

And he bowed down to the other, taking his forehead to the mattress. When he looked up, for a split second he could see Kenma smiling, so it was worth it.

That and Kuroo’s proud face when he told him about it all.

\-- 

Bokuto hated studying.

Not because he didn’t like learning new things, but because he used to be one of those kids that didn’t need study to get things done. He just knew shit. Now, though, he couldn’t focus when he stared at a book, hated the silence, hated the stillness. And he hated that he got so easily frustrated, because it would inevitably lead up to people giving up on helping him study. And he needed help.

He had a test the following week and he'd somehow managed to get Oikawa and Sawamura mad at him, and no matter how much he offered to bribe her, Shirofuku had declared she would only help him again once he gave back her notes from last semester. Which wouldn’t happen because he had lost them somewhere on the moving.

So he was fucked.

Which eventually led to him wandering around the park in front of their apartment, camera in hand and full conscience he had failed. He was such a disappointment. What would he do? He was going to fail that subject and all would be lost. Forever. Who could save him?

“Hey! Bokuto, what are you doing outside in your pajamas?” Kuroo teased from where he stood on the nearby sidewalk, apparently on his way home.

He looked down and realized he was in fact on his pajamas, which only made everything worse. He must had let it show, because Kuroo frowned and walked over, patting his shoulders.

“Are you okay, dude?”

“I’m a failure. I’ll fail my subject, my parents will officially give up on me, I’ll never become a photographer-”

“Hey hey, don't put yourself down like that. Let's go home.” 

As soon as they were inside Akaashi came to ask what the problem was, which meant Bokuto was being obvious, which would normally embarrass him much more. He usually didn't mind teasing, but he really wasn't in the mood for mockery. Especially from them, and in something that actually mattered. 

Then, instead of prying, being annoyed or saying his difficulty came from his own terrible personality, they just exchanged glances and Akaashi spoke up.

“We could try to help you.”

“…You would do this? Even knowing me?”

“We are doing this _because_ we know you.” Kuroo replied right away, patting his back. 

Bokuto didn't even think of keeping himself from beaming, because he had a chance! Not everything was lost forever! 

“So let’s do this!”

“Not here.” Akaashi stopped him, calm as ever. “At the library, where there will be less distractions.” 

He wanted to complain, but Kuroo was already pushing him to his room and telling him to get dressed. He did as he was told and then they went to the college library.

He always liked bringing Kuroo to college with him. It was just amazing to see the way those pretty eyes lit up. Akaashi was also amazing to watch at college, he looked so pretty and like he belonged there, with books and learning. 

The library was very nice, but a bit cold and so fucking silent (that’s the point, he knew, but still didn’t like it), and they got a table on the far edge so they could actually speak to each other. He took his books and read page after page, but there were moments he just couldn’t anymore, and that's when the two next to him made the most wonderful difference. They spoke to him, allowed him his occasional distractions, didn't get angry when he started resisting to go back to studying. They seemed to have infinite patience, Bokuto almost couldn't believe it.

Eventually he noticed he needed yet another book, so he immediately took the chance to stretch his legs. Bokuto went directly for the librarian, a blonde woman with short hair who smiled at him around her lollypop. 

“Hey you’re that cute brunet’s boyfriend right? Can you tell him I can get him a library card? He just needs to get me his photo and it should be fine.” 

Not one for unnecessary correction, he found himself asking: “Which one?”

She chuckled at the question and gave him a weak punch to the shoulder. 

“You have more than one cute brunet? That’s some luck there. I’m talking about the tall one with the stylish hair and a smug grin.” 

“Aaa, Kuroo it is.”

With Kuroo this was a first, but he had already been mistaken for Akaashi’s boyfriend, so he wasn't even shocked anymore, just confused. Every time he went to the minimarket by himself the girl at the register would ask him how his boyfriend was. There was also that friend of Kenma’s, Hinata, that didn’t seem to listen to fact they weren't actually dating. Akaashi told him just to ignore it, Kenma glared at Hinata until he shut up, but he really didn't want to be rude, so go with it it is.

“I’ll get him the message. Can you tell me where I find books on calculus, please?”

\--

Bokuto wasn’t one for routine, but there was one thing he had that was almost like one : his work-out. He never missed a day of it. After all, his muscles didn’t grow themselves. Or they did, if you consider it was his body that choose to do exercise and his body grew the muscles- Anyway, he had his exercise routine and everyone in the apartment knew it. They let him do it in his pace, with loud rap playing from his computer and complete solitude.

Well, that was until Akaashi entered his room, carrying a package and looking sleepy. Bokuto looked at him, while still keeping up with his sit ups. There was something he noticed, though, the way Akaashi’s eyes lingered on his body, specially on his chest. Bokuto was shirtless and he knew his six pack was out of this world, but this was sort of a surprise.

“What is it, Akaashi?”

The other seemed to come back to this reality, and looked away before dropping the box on Bokuto’s bed.

“This arrived for you.”

He stopped what he was doing and went to look at what it was, and was very excited to see his new owl-related stuff had arrived. He wasn’t going to open it up in front of Akaashi though, there's no way he'd risk his owl plushie to prying eyes.

Bokuto turned around to thank Akaashi, but then he saw the eyes that were once more staring, so he leaned closer as smoothly as he could.

“You can touch it, you know?”

Those dark eyes stared at him and Koutarou was blessed with the sight of a blushing Akaashi, so before something else happened and he ended up doing something stupid, he moved closer and kissed those beautiful lips. There was surprise at first, but soon enough hands were touching his abs and his back, and Akaashi was kissing back. He tried not to smile too much, tried to focus on kissing and the feeling of letting his hands hold the other’s waist. Akaashi’s lips were so soft he could kiss them forever if it wasn't for boring things like needing to breath. As soon as they parted, Akaashi turned on his heels and left.

Bokuto felt sadness crushing him, and honest to god he could feel tears on his eyes. This couldn’t be! He had ruined a perfectly good relationship with Akaashi. He had tasted heaven and he would never get the chance to do it again. There was no use being sad by himself, though, so he ran to Kuroo and Kenma’s room.

Kenma wasn’t home, but Kuroo was. He did yelp of surprise when Bokuto threw himself on the bed, teary face smashing directly into a pillow.

“Dude, what the fuck?”

Bokuto hugged the pillow to his chest, sniffing.

“I fucked up. Akaashi hates me.”

Kuroo closed the book he was reading, and kneeled on the floor next to the bed.

“What did you do?”

“I kissed him.”

And instead of getting the problem, Kuroo smiled and patted his back.

“Congratulations, dude!”

“No! It’s was terrible! He hates me now! He left. Just left, without saying a word about it! I should have asked before I kissed him!”

“Did he kiss you back?”

“He did…”

Kuroo arched his eyebrow, like he was expecting Bokuto to get to a conclusion. He didn’t know what this was about though, so eventually Kuroo sighed and explained.

“He does that. He’ll kiss you and then he’ll leave and never speak about it again. He did it with me a while back. I was a bit confused about where we stood afterwards, but nothing actually changed.”

Bokuto raised his head, looking at his friend. Kuroo and Akaashi had kissed? How did he not know that, and why did that make him a bit horny?

“You two kissed?”

“Once, just casual stuff.”

Bokuto wasn’t too much on the casual side. Yes, he was very affectionate and had no shame when it came to hugging and giving his friends love, but his relationships just weren’t casual. He could try something like that, though, if that was what Akaashi did. Which meant he could kiss other people, and damn, now that he had pictured it he wanted to see Kuroo and Akaashi kissing. He also wanted to kiss both at the same time, coming to think of it.

“Now, that we’ve cleared everything up and got to the conclusion Akaashi doesn’t hate you, can you go back to doing your work out? I have a text I need to finish reading before going to my shift.”

Bokuto got up and skipped out of the room. He did want to talk to his friend some more, but he could see Kuroo needed to study. Soon enough there would be admission tests, and he couldn’t imagine a world where Kuroo didn’t manage to get into college. Besides, he still had fifty sit ups to do before going for a run. 

\--

Kenma was sick. 

And it was his fault. 

Bokuto had convinced him to go for a jog (okay, maybe convinced was not the word he was going for, he actually annoyed until Kenma had given up), but then a storm began halfway through. A fully blown one, with thunderbolts and lighting, very very frightening, storm. Kenma had refused to be a scaredy cat (Bokuto never thought he’d see the day Kenma convinced him to do something dangerous, but it had happened and no one would believe him). Now their tiny one was sick, hot with fever, nose dripping and really annoyed glare, the whole deal. 

Bokuto and Akaashi had no idea of what to do. Akaashi had tried reading some wiki pages and looking for help online, Bokuto tried using his knowledge of having been sickly kid to do something, but both of them had failed miserably. Currently, Kenma was grumply slouching on the couch, dressed on his pajamas and so sick he didn’t even want to play videogames. 

“Akaashi, no offense, but I sort of thought you were the kind of person who could deal with any situation.” He whispered as they both stood on the kitchen watching their very grumpy roommate. 

“I can deal with situations inside the patterns I predict. You, for example, are very predictable. Which is completely the opposite of sick Kenma, I feel like he's a time bomb.”

“I feel mildly insulted, but I'm sure you meant that as a compliment.”

“Think what you want.” 

Koutarou sighed. He needed a plan, because he was completely sure that sick Kenma would try to kill them on their sleep. He had no idea what to do, he'd tried bribing, begging, using reasonable thinking, and still Kenma would just ‘nope’. Or make cute hissing noises. Now they needed him to be a good patient and drink the fever medicine, though. 

“We could just hold him and force it down his throat.” Akaashi proposed, nonchalant as ever, and Bokuto could only manage to stare at him in disbelief. 

“What the fuck, Akaashi?”

“Do you have a better plan?”

“Calling an adult to help us?”

“ _We_ are adults.” Akaashi shot back. 

“I mean, like, a Kenma-specialist.” 

“And who-"

Bokuto waited with a grin for his roommate to be illuminated by realization. He could actually see the idea taking form. 

“Kuroo.” They said together, as cliché as could be. 

Akaashi was already grabbing his cellphone and calling Kuroo, rushing in mild desperation. Bokuto truly thought they should feel guilty about this, but what could they do? If they didn’t do anything, Kenma would get worse and eventually Kuroo would get home and find complete and absolute chaos (or most likely, a snotty Kenma with Akaashi trying to shove medicine down his throat and Bokuto flailing around this madness). 

He could hear Akaashi (begrudgingly) asking for information, and turned to watch it. His weird fantasies actually included Akaashi as the top lawyer of some big , making really important calls, and Bokuto as his trophy husband. Watching the guy so focused on the phone did things to him. 

That was until he felt a hand grabbing the back of his shirt, and Koutarou froze. Slowly he turned on his heels, only to find a freaking zombie staring at him. He honest to god couldn’t move a muscle, was too terrified for that. 

“I want water.” The zombie rasped, staring at him. 

Kenma really looked like death warmed over. Bokuto nodded and moved to get a glass. When he handed it over, he used the opportunity to pat him in the head, and much to his surprise he didn’t get a hiss or a slap for it, just eyes closing up. At this moment Akaashi came back to Koutarou’s side. 

“He says to be nice and cuddle and make sure he is warm and give him water and-“ He stopped reciting his mental list and turned to Kenma. “He said if you don’t take your medicine we should tell Hinata you’re sick.” 

“I don’t want Shouyou right now, he is too loud and my head hurts.” Kenma muttered with a pout. 

Akaashi pointedly handed over the medicine cup and Kenma took it all in one shot. The face he made afterwards almost made Bokuto feel sorry for him. He had to be an adult now, though, so he guided Kenma back to the couch while Akaashi went to grab a blanket. There was one word that was stuck on his mind, though. _Cuddle_ , Kuroo told them to cuddle with Kenma. He probably meant Akaashi, but Bokuto knew he had by far the highest body temperature, so it was only logical that he was the one to sit behind Kenma and let the guy rest his back against his chest and head on his shoulder. Koutarou’s hands felt so big resting on those skinny arms and still he couldn’t help but smile. Akaashi came back and for a second Bokuto could tell he was smiling too. 

“Come over here, Keiji.” He found himself saying, hand extended. 

He had hoped Akaashi to flip him off, to remind him he had not allowed anyone to call him by his first name. Instead, he got Akaashi half spooning half laying on top of Kenma and pulling the blanket over them. Kenma soon relaxed between them, and eventually fell asleep. When his breaths finally sounded deeper, Keiji looked up, seeming sleepy himself.

“If we get too heavy I can move.”

“No, I’m fine. Sleep a bit, you haven’t gotten the chance to relax with the finals 'round the corner, right?” 

“You always surprise me, Bokuto. I didn’t think you had noticed.”

“You've been drinking five times more coffee than usual and come on, no way you would suggest forcing medicine into someone as a valid option if you were in your right mind.” 

He was actually really proud of himself for having noticed and put the pieces together. And Akaashi looked pleased too, before making himself more comfortable and falling asleep as well. 

When Kuroo got home five hours later, he found that adorable scene on his couch, Bokuto would have bragged, but all he could manage to do was whisper in despair.

“I haven’t felt my body for the last hour, but this is so worth it.” 

\--

“I think it’s only right we do this.” Akaashi declared during one of their daily coffee meetings. “No matter how you see it, Kuroo deserves something nice after a whole weekend spent on admission tests.” 

“He's not gonna accept a present if he sees us buying it.” Kenma added before taking another sip of his coffee. 

“So one of us has to distract him.” Akaashi looked pointedly at him. 

“And you two have decided it should be me?” Bokuto was seriously baffled anyone would consider him able to keep a secret. 

They patted his shoulders, one from each side. 

“We trust you, Bokuto.” 

And that had taken him to this moment in his life, biting his lower lip and trying really hard not to fuck up. Kuroo was next to him, telling him about his day at work and he tried to pay full attention, or at least look as if he was listening to his friend speaking. 

“There is this one dude, I don’t know his name, just that he is a major pain in the ass. He always acts like he is the nice guy and polite, but he keeps trying to fuck up with our lives. He is that kind of client that makes as if something happens not only is it my fault as I probably planed the whole thing somehow.” 

“He sounds like a douche.” 

“He made the new girl – Yachi, sweetest person ever – cry last time he dropped by, I had to drag her to the employee room and explain to her it wasn’t her fault if he had found the one package that had two price tags. The thing was the last one in the fridge, but he got his claws all the way there just to be a pain. And demanded to speak to the manager, all very _nice and polite_ so everyone watching thought she was a hysterical kid instead of, you know, a girl who just got her first job and is very stressed out.” Kuroo sighed. “I hate retail work.” 

“I don’t know how you endure it.” 

Bokuto really had no fucking idea. Once when he was like seventeen he had worked in his uncle’s ice cream shop for the summer. By the end of it, he had only learned that anyone who managed to survive working despite dealing with people’s bullshit every day was a hero. 

“It’s our stop.” He shot up suddenly and grabbed Kuroo’s hand so they would not get lost in the crowded streets. 

It was cold outside, even his mittens and his scarf weren’t helping that much. 

“So which shop do you wanna go?” Kuroo asked him, smiling and pulling his scarf to cover his nose. 

“Don’t know. Any ideas? You’re the stylish one here.” 

He couldn’t say it. _Don’t say it, Bokuto._ Kuroo frowned and pointed at a big department store. 

“They have some nice stuff that isn’t very expensive. Perhaps I can even get something.” 

“We are going to try all the clothes we like and then we’ll have some crepe.” Bokuto declared, walking hurriedly in search of some warmth. Once inside they took off their scarves and gloves and shoved those in their backpacks, then proceeded to walk around looking at clothes. Bokuto knew that he wasn’t in character for his lie, he barely picked up clothes for himself, but he always pointed Kuroo at stuff he liked. They laughed together, cracking up at those too colorful or too flashy. Kuroo was a bit reluctant to try anything on though, he kept repeating ‘I don’t have money to spend in clothes right now’ . 

“Come on, Kuroo. Trying it on is no harm.” 

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you want to see me in skin tight pants and crop tops.” 

Bokuto did. He very much did and he might have blushed and nodded, eyes shinning bright. Kuroo actually seemed to blush for a mere moment before a smirk took over. 

“You naughty, naughty boy. I’ll do it then." Bokuto was barely keeping himself from bouncing in excitement, seeing Kuroo in crop tops would be worth everything. “ _If_ you tell me, why did you really bring me here?” 

He couldn’t lie. He couldn’t miss this chance in his life, so he blurted it all out. 

“We decided to buy you some clothes as gifts, I was supposed to come with you and grab a sense of what you like.” 

He felt guilty. He shouldn’t have said anything, it was supposed to be a surprise. However, it wasn’t only his fault, Akaashi and Kenma knew he would end up telling Kuroo. His friend watched as he freaked out, with a bunch of clothes in his arms and a smile on his lips. 

“Okay. I don’t like you guys buying me shit, but I’m getting the impression I don’t get a say in this anyway. Just don’t buy me anything expensive, for real, okay?” 

Bokuto nodded, his smile slightly tinted with embarrassment. Kuroo seemed genuinely happy dragging him to the fitting room, though. 

They somehow managed to slip in so they were both in the same cabin. There wasn’t much room, but it didn’t matter. He would hand over the clothes so Kuroo would try them own, and then they would comment. He even took some photos of the process, and sent them to Kenma and Akaashi. It was a bit unfair how his friend managed to look amazing in anything he tried on, from baggy as fuck sweaters to tight tank tops. The crop top was too amazing to describe on words, as predicted. 

“Dude, please, take that top off, or I might jump you.”

“Do I look that good?” Kuroo asked, leaning against the opposite wall. 

“You know you do.” 

They locked eyes with each other, and he couldn’t help but remember that time they were dancing together, when he'd thought they would kiss. Kuroo held his arms up as if inviting him there, so Bokuto went ahead and hugged him, face hidden on the taller one’s neck and hand resting on the exposed skin of his abs. After a while he raised his face and stared at Kuroo's slight blush.

“It’s not fair, okay?” His friend declared. “I don’t know how to deal with sweetness.” 

They both chuckled, looking at each other and bumping their noses, and Bokuto moved his hands to touch Kuroo's neck and cheek. Fuck, he was so good looking. 

“So, is this kiss coming this century or should I sit down to wait?” 

Koutarou rolled his eyes and leaned in. Their lips touched and it felt just right, stopping only when they couldn't keep from chuckling some more. They were pressed chest to chest, and it felt almost too nice. His hands might have found their way to Kuroo’s ass (a very fine ass) and his friend’s hands grabbed his biceps a few times. They kept kissing until a poor sales man came to ask if everything was okay. They left the store and ended up buying the clothes Kuroo was wearing while they made out, it seemed like the only decent thing to do. 

Fortunately, instead of awkwardness settling in, they couldn’t stop laughing. Buying crepe was the funniest thing, because they kept remembering the terrified face of the retail guy, and Kuroo kept saying he was glad he didn’t work at a clothing store because seeing things like this was so not worth it, to which Bokuto argued that at least they were hot. The people around kept giving them dirty looks, and by look alone they agreed this was as good a challenge as any. They acted like the most disgustingly sweet couple ever, right up until Kenma texted them informing they either got into a train back home or they would miss gaming night (which Bokuto was especially proud of making a thing). Both were so tired that it was a real luck they didn’t fall asleep and miss their station. 

As they got home, the living room was empty, the place strangely quiet.

“Should we leave? They could be _busy_.” Kuroo whispered to him, still standing by the doorway.

“Nah.” Bokuto was suspicious, there was something going on. He called out their names and Akaashi’s voice came from Kuroo and Kenma’s room. 

They headed together there, and were completely shocked by what they found. Apparently, Kenma and Akaashi had put their Extreme Makeover acquired knowledge to use while they were gone. Kuroo’s side now actually looked like a room and not only like somewhere he passed out after a hard working day. His friend stared at him, smile brighter than ever.

“You bastard! You lying bastard!” 

“I didn't lie! They tricked us!” 

Kuroo’s laugh was so genuine, he pulled everyone to a hug and made sure they all fell on the bed. Bokuto had never seen all of them looking so happy, maker, even Akaashi and Kenma were smiling. He wished he had his camera with him so he could capture this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like this chapter, I sure loved writing Bokuto.  
> I'm writing the possible last scene of the last chapter of the fic   
> Let's just say Kenma and Kuroo were harder to write then I predicted.
> 
> -jawwn


	3. How to be stupidly oblivious, by Kuroo Tetsurou

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, peeps!   
> For those more strict about rating, the last part could maybe be considered M, so just skip it if it makes you uncomfortable (content in end notes).  
> Other than that, charge on ahead and enjoy this chapter :)

He tried to be a nice person, but sometimes his little shit side was a bit too strong for his own sake. 

This was one of those moments. 

He and Kenma had gotten along like fish and water, but that didn’t mean that they magically never teased each other, it only meant they were more specific about it. And one of their greatest leverage was on the fact they both knew the other had a crush on them, so they just kept metaphorically at each other. Well, Kuroo did, Kenma didn't really do anything and was a pain all the same. 

It generally felt like Kenma was winning, because more often than Not he would just lay there playing his videogames and just ignore Kuroo. 

Today, though, Kuroo had been very careful in choosing the right moment to act. Kenma had been a bit frustrated that everyone else in their apartment got to Kuroo before him (which he hadn't said with those words, but he had become incredibly good in reading Kenma’s facial expressions), so when he entered the room and those eyes lingered for a second too long, he knew this was going to work. 

Kuroo had intentionally only taken his underwear to the bathroom. It was cold outside, but that only added to his determination. 

“Forgot my clothes.” 

“That was a bit stupid.” His roommate replied, but at same time glaced every other second over his DS. 

Kuroo smirked and sat on Kenma’s bed. 

“I hate winter, we have to wear so many clothes.” 

The smaller man sighed, but kept playing his game. Kuroo could swear it would need a real life alien invasion to get Kenma to pay attention to things. He wouldn’t give up though, instead he stretched like a cat, showing off his muscles and flexibility. 

“Come on, Kenma, pay attention to me.” He whined, pinching the other’s side just enough to get him to squirm. 

The blond let his body slide on the bed next to Tetsurou, but kept playing his game, so it was only a partial success. Kuroo marveled once more at how adorable he was, so genuine and with so much inside him that he never let people see. It was strange how _protective_ he'd gotten over the last months, how he wanted Kenma's life to be happy and exciting, much more than his friend allowed it to be at the moment. 

“You’re staring.” 

“It's your fault you're cute.” 

Kenma blushed a bit and kicked him lightly on the leg. Tetsurou smirked and decided to actually take charge of something, mostly because sitting back and waiting was obviously not taking him anywhere, and at this rhythm the world would freeze before anything happened. He stood on hands and knees to hover over Kenma, who looked up at him in surprise, but then closed his game and let it to the side. His blush was indeed too cute to resist. 

“Kenma, I’m going to kiss you. Is that-” His words were cut short when Kenma pulled him down and smashed their lips together. 

It was hotter and heavier than anything he would have expected from Kenma. Kuroo kissed back, leaning lower, body lightly pressed to Kenma’s. It was all almost too much for him, the way they moved against each other, their pure energy. Perhaps the fact he was in his underwear was taking its toll too. Those lithe hands caressed his back, and scratched it when Kuroo pressed their hips closer. This was away too hot. 

Even with all this closeness and his blood pumping on his veins, it was still cold and frigid breeze came into the room to make his whole body shiver, and not in a nice way. Kenma eventually parted their lips, and Kuroo stared at him for a moment, a bit unsure. Perhaps it had been too much too fast. 

“You should get dressed, you’re shivering.” 

“Perhaps you could take off your clothes.” He joked winking at the blond, who rolled his eyes and pushed his shoulder. 

“We can keep making out after you put some more layers on.” 

“We can?” 

Kenma shrugged, and Kuroo practically jumped off the bed and ran to his dresser, hurrying into his baggy gym pants and Nevemore sweater before jumping back into bed. Kenma sighed, but turned to cuddle against him anyway, face pressed to Kuroo’s sweater. He tried focus on the fact that this was casual, that if they ended up dating it would fuck up the dynamic of the house. However, he allowed himself to hold his friend and kiss him and just for a night pretend that this could be his side of the room too. 

\-- 

Akaashi was a mystery to Kuroo. 

He couldn’t tell how their pseudo landlord actually felt about them. Sometimes he felt as if he was incredibly bored by their presence, other times he felt like Akaashi cared too much about them. He didn't know how to feel about the fact he had an actual notebook with little facts and curiosities about everyone in the apartment filling it (Akaashi had been really drunk when he told Kuroo that, and it was doubtful he even remembered doing so). He had kissed both Kuroo and Bokuto, still he didn’t talk about it and had never repeated the action, so it could have just been an impulse. 

With Bokuto, Kuroo had talked about kissing and they had decided to go for the we-kiss-when-we-feel-like-it approach. Kenma demanded more of a guess work, and sometimes they cuddled and kissed, but his friend didn’t seem interested in anything else. 

“Pain-in-the-ass-Kuroo-san.” There came that fucking nickname. Kuroo turned to face Akaashi, who was laying on the couch, a gigantic book and a notebook full of annotations on his lap. “Welcome home.” And there were the mixed signals again. 

“Hey there, Akaashi.” 

He took off his shoes and his coat, almost stumbling inside. He could barely keep his eyes open, but at least he didn’t have to kill himself studying anymore, now he could enjoy some hours spent thinking about his life if he didn’t manage to enter a university. 

“You look like crap.” 

“No shit, Sherlock. Try having three jobs.” 

Kuroo frowned and headed to the kitchen. This was going to become one of those late night talks it seemed, and he was so not excited for that. Not that he didn’t love talking to Akaashi and feeling like they could truly trust each other, it's just it was very late. Even so, he grabbed a meal from the fridge, put it to heat in the microwave and prompted a follow up. 

“So… what’s the matter, Akaashi?” 

“Why should there be a matter?” 

“You obviously waited for me to show up, 'cause you want to have one of our heart to hearts.” 

Akaashi groaned, but didn’t deny it. Which was all Kuroo really needed, so he grabbed his dinner and sat on the ground, back against the sofa.   
“I think I might be bad at expressing my feelings. Like, people can’t tell what I’m thinking, which I always took as an advantage, but not so much anymore. Bokuto gets it, but ninety percent of the time I feel he's just guessing.” 

“Well, he usually is, but that’s not only about you. Bokuto makes guesses about everything and prays he gets it right, even when he actually knows the answers.”   
Kuroo really didn’t know what more to do or to say. It always felt like a part of Akaashi’s personality to be like this, a bit like Kenma. He didn’t think Akaashi needed to change a thing about himself, but that was obviously only his opinion. If Akaashi wanted to change, then he should. He was a grown man and this was his life, still Kuroo had to admit it felt wrong. 

“I feel like I'm not really close to you guys.” Was muttered behind him. 

“Owwn.” He turned to face the other, who was looking away. “That’s sweet. Who would have thought you're so cute?” 

Akaashi threw a pillow at him and Kuroo blocked him by chance, laughing a bit louder than he probably should. Sobering up he leaned in, looking into Akaashi's eyes.   
“You don’t have to change, just maybe open up a bit. I do think you’re close to us already, in your way. Bokuto thinks you are the hero of the world, Kenma really likes and admires you. Just relax a bit.”

“And you, Kuroo?” 

He shrugged and smirked. Kuroo would not use the notebook card, as it was a bit of a jerk move, so he decided to be a little on the teasing side. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting out of that, though. 

“Well, you did kiss me. It’s hard to think you hate me that much.”

“You remember that, even after…?” 

Tetsurou frowned, kinda lost now.

“After…?” 

Akaashi just shook his head and got up. 

“I gotta go.” 

And once again Kuroo was left in the living room by Akaashi, with this feeling in his throat that something he didn’t understand had just happened. He hated this, he really did. 

\--

“This your place?! It's so cool! Kenma lives here too, right?!” The kid was standing in their living room, his excitement kind of overwhelming. 

“Just don’t touch anything while I go grab what we need, Lev.” 

Kuroo had brought his coworker over because the kid was also studying for college application exams, and he'd promised he would lend his notes on literature. He'd then forgotten to bring said notes over to work, because his life was a fucking mess, so he had let Lev come along. He just hoped Bokuto wouldn’t show up, him and Lev would be the worst combination he could think of. 

“So, I’m assuming those photos are of you guys?” Lev asked from the living room, and Kuroo could only assume he was talking about the photos Bokuto had put all around.

“Well... Yes?” He really couldn’t think what other assumptions Lev could have made. “Bokuto is a photographer, and we are apparently his favorite subjects to photograph.”

“Oh, that’s very cute.” 

Kuroo frowned. Yeah, it was a dork move and some part of him might find it endearing, but not cute. So he just ignored the comment, his co-worker _was_ known to come up with some bullshit every now and then after all. He looked around until he found his notebook and then went back to the living room, where he found Lev still looking at the photographs with all the interest in the world. If he at least had half this interest for learning the basics of his job at the vet, Kuroo’s life would be so much easier. 

“Here are the notes, if you have any questions just text me.”

“We could study together.” Lev proposed, smiling earnestly. 

_No. For the gods, no._ Fortunately Kuroo could avoid his thoughts actually being vocalized. He had helped Lev study back in the beginning of the year. Spending so much one on one time with that uncooperative little shit was frankly exhausting, and it had taken Kuroo five months to convince Yaku from his delivery job to help out (he was studying literature already, it was only logical). 

“I don’t think Yaku would like that very much.” 

“Nah, he would be okay with it.” Kuroo could hear the bullshit in every word spoken. 

He walked over and patted the kid’s shoulder. Lev _was_ a kid, albeit an unusually tall one, and that meant sometimes he needed discipline. 

“You’re trying to run away from Yaku, and that’s a coward move, Lev. I thought you could endure more.” 

“He’s scary!” 

Tetsurou knew that was true, Yaku might be short and he might look delicate, but he could hit really hard and he had the shortest temper ever. Still, his dedication was all Lev needed not to slack off. 

“You can do it. Now let’s go, I have another shift to go to.” 

They were about to get out of the apartment incident free when strong arms hugged Kuroo from behind, and he didn't even need the signature 'hey hey hey’ to know exactly who it was. Not only was Bokuto was there, but also Akaashi stood on the doorway. 

“Hey guys, we have a guest here.” 

Both his roommates stared at the tall boy, who waved while smiling brightly. 

“I’m Haiba Lev, it’s very nice to meet Kuroo’s boyfriends.” 

Akaashi arched an eyebrow, looking at Kuroo. Bokuto on the other hand stared at him with a smirk in his lips, and Tetsurou resigned himself to sighing loudly.  
“I’ve never said that.”

“Yes, but it’s pretty clear. All the time you mention one of them you get this little fond smile, just like when you pet cats. You guys also touch a lot and, well, it just makes sense.”

Kuroo wanted to bury himself on the ground after that one. Bokuto was giving him a strange look and Akaashi was smirking, the little shit. 

“They are not my boyfriends, I couldn’t possibly date three people at the same time. Now let’s go, or I’ll tell Yaku about how you have been neglecting your studies.” 

There was pure terror in the kids face then. Kuroo finally managed to disentangle himself from Bokuto and walk away, dragging Lev along. How could someone think he was dating all of them? It was ridiculous, he couldn’t do that. No matter how much he adored them, each one in their own way, having all of them was impossible, and perhaps he had decided that he'd rather have no one than have to choose. It was silly, and his mother would have laughed and told him to stop being such a martyr, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t be with Kenma only to watch Bokuto being depressed and Akaashi feeling like he didn’t belong, or any other configuration really. And that considering any of them would actually want him, which he didn't want to think about right now.

“Kuroo, please don’t tell Yaku about that.”

“You shouldn’t go saying shit like that.” He shot back, slapping the back of Lev’s head. “One day you will be in serious trouble, squirt.”

-

Kuroo’s days were getting a lot more work oriented now he didn’t have to study so much. He was getting extra hours so he could spare some more. He would have to take study loans anyway, but he didn’t want them to be monstrous, he was dreaming of paying them before he turned sixty. That all meant a lot less time spent with his roommates. He didn’t complain much, since soon enough he'd probably achieve his main goal of so many years. People usually saw college like some obvious path if you wanted to be respected, but the fact was Kuroo’s family didn’t have that sort of money. It was him and his mother, other than a long missing father, that is. But now he would go to college and he would graduate, just to prove them all wrong, and if that meant he couldn’t hang around his favorite people for a while, so be it.   
He was organizing shelves when he spotted someone very familiar entering the store. He would have expected Bokuto to come visit, even Akaashi, but he would never have expected Kenma, what with his social anxiety and all. He waved so the other wouldn’t have to walk around looking for him, and the blond came to him, looking down. 

“Kenma, what a surprise.”

“You texted saying we could go do our grocery shopping today.”

“Yeah, but usually you just give me the money and I go.”

“I want to learn how to do it too. I thought we could go together, perhaps?”

Kuroo was actually proud of that, and tried not to smile too bright as he messed Kenma’s hair. 

“Sure thing. I just have to finish this and go change, care to wait?” 

“It’s okay.”

Kenma just stood by as he finished the shelf. They didn’t talk but that was no surprise or worry, it was just the way things worked. Kuroo went to change his clothes and asked Kenma to wait outside the ‘employee only’ room. After the jerk customer had made a complaint about Kuroo not being professional enough, he wasn’t about to give any manager a fake excuse to let him go. Really, how could someone be so nasty? 

When he finally showed up outside the room, Kenma seemed a bit nervous, and the market was getting crowded. Kuroo offered his hand to his roommate, who took it and pressed himself against Kuroo’s arm (damn he was cute, so not fair). Even though he had an employee discount here, he wasn’t about to put Kenma through this. A crowded supermarket was not something even Kuroo liked to deal with. 

They were walking outside when Yachi crossed paths with them. 

“Kenma! Kuroo!” She gasped, sounding surprised and looking from one to the other, cheeks blushing and eyes sparkling. “You two know each other?”

The blond blushed and looked away, but Kuroo on the other hand smirked as usual. 

“We're actually very close, right Kenma?”

“If you say so.” 

Yachi wouldn't stop staring at them, which was incredibly uncomfortable given the circumstances. He was pretty sure she was getting all the wrong ideas. 

“So, have a good shift, Yachi. If the douche comes back, remember, you’re not obligated to cover up all the possible fuck ups.”

She nodded all determined, and damn, Kuroo was too fond of her. Kenma and Yachi talked a bit, she asked how Hinata was doing and when they would meet up again, he replied something about a film they were all gonna watch together. It was nice all these kids that had gone to High School together still being friends, and not for the first time he wished he had someone from back then. Eventually Tetsurou had to remind her that she actually had a shift to attend to. The girl hurried off in mild panic, and they went ahead to do their groceries. 

“She probably thinks we're dating, you know?” He commented as they walked down the street. 

“I do.” Kenma replied, seeming a bit worried about it. “It's tiresome that people keep making assumptions about my relationships.”

“I think it's kinda amusing. Like, people can’t see two people being close and they already jump to conclusions. But I do love defying social expectations, so there is that.”

Kuroo wouldn't say it, he would also love to be able to reply: yes, this is my boyfriend. There were enough open gay relationships in everyday life, it's not like it would be much of a leap. They spent a while longer in silence, and by the time they got to their grocery store their hands were apart. 

“So, what’s today’s grocery list?”

\--

The thing Kuroo liked the most about Christmas was being able to get everyone on the same place. He liked the whole spending the evening with people you care about thing, and well, gifts were not bad at all. So when he heard Bokuto complaining about not having a place to spend Christmas, since his family 'had better things to do', Kuroo had an idea. He knew Kenma was trying to put some distance between him and his parents, and that Akaashi’s parents would be on a trip. It was actually a bit awkward to ask them about it, but he did, asked if they wanted to spend this Christmas with him. He didn’t mention it would be at his mother’s house, because he didn’t want them thinking it was a big deal. Bokuto had been ultra excited about it, Akaashi had pretended not to care and Kenma had actually smiled before he agreed. His mother had been delighted to know he was bringing guests over. 

He bought them all little gifts, nothing too fancy but things he knew they would like, and when the day finally came they all got dressed up in their best red, green and white clothes (Kenma said it was ridiculous, but he stopped complaining when Kuroo borrowed him a Christmas sweater that was like two times his size). 

“I must admit I’m curious about what kind of place Kuroo is taking us to.” Akaashi mentioned as they left the apartment. 

“You'll see soon enough.” 

Well, perhaps soon wasn’t the right word, more like eventually. Bokuto kept asking him where they were headed, and it was really like trying to make a surprise for a child. It was still daytime when they got in the bus, carrying bags of gifts. Somewhere along the way Bokuto fell asleep and took to drooling on his shoulder, and Kenma and Akaashi stared at him like they were pretty sure he was kidnapping them. 

“Argh, okay, quit the drama already. We're going to my mother’s house to spend Christmas.”

“That’s your big surprise?” 

“Yeah? You guys will finally have an actual Christmas night, and you get to meet my mom and tell her you’re a big fan of her work.” 

They sighed at that last remark, and the rest of the trip was mostly silent. Kuroo did point out the High School he went to and the first store he worked at, and even if they did not speak up Tetsurou could see their eyes following his indications. 

They got off the bus, and Bokuto was informed of where they were headed, which luckily seemed to really excite him. Seriously, Bokuto was a gift to the world. As Kuroo walked down the street some people waved to him, and he was already so happy to be back. He hadn’t had many chances to visit in a while, not with work and studying. His childhood home was a one floor small house equal to many others in the neighborhood. It was smaller than their current apartment, actually. He knocked twice, looking down and praying this would all go well. Soon enough his mother came to greet them, a huge smile lighting up her face. 

“You guys came! And earlier than I expected, at that.” She pulled her son to a tight hug, kissing both his cheeks. “Merry Christmas, Tetsurou.”

“Merry Christmas, Mom.” 

“Damn, that's your mom? She's so young!” Bokuto mentioned out loud, though he probably thought he was being subtle. 

“And you must be Bokuto.” She replied with a smile, letting go of Kuroo and pulling Bokuto to a hug. His friend was shocked for a few seconds, but then embraced her back. After a while that seemed too long, she let go of him and turned to the two remaining young men. 

“Akaashi?” She asked, extending her hand to him, because Kuroo just might have described his roommates one too many times. 

“It’s very nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Feeling is mutual.” As she let go of his hand she turned to Kenma, still smiling but her voice softer. “And you're Kenma. I’m happy you came.”

“Thank you for having us…” He looked down, seeming a bit tense under her attention, so she just moved away, dragging all of them inside so they got out of the cold.

The small house was suddenly crowded, and among taking off shoes and coats and leaving their presents under the tree soon enough all his roommates seemed to be at home. Kenma sat on the sofa and hugged a pillow, watching everything, Akaashi stood in the hallway looking at the several different pictures on the wall, and Bokuto was following his mother around, literally bouncing in excitement. She also seemed delighted to have her house full, and took no time to get them all to help preparing all the food. It was almost too good to see Akaashi and Kenma cutting carrots and other vegetables while Bokuto mashed potatoes with all his might. Kuroo tried not to be too transparent about his dumb feelings, but it was honestly hard to do so. 

Eventually someone turned on the tv and Bokuto actually ran to the living room to sing along to some silly pop Christmas song. Kuroo followed him to drag him back to the kitchen, but all he manged to do was get roped into the performance. That was until he noticed Akaashi and his mother standing by the doorway to the kitchen, wine glasses in hand and smirks on their lips. 

“What is it?” Tetsurou asked while trying to hold Bokuto up (who may have had a few too many glasses of wine already). 

Akaashi pointed at the ceiling and both men standing on the living room looked up to find a mistletoe glued there. His mother was so devious sometimes. Bokuto didn’t even blink before grabbing Kuroo’s face and kissing him, so earnest and happy. Kuroo might have blushed, knowing they were being watched. He also made a mental note to explain to his mother that they were not actually dating. The kiss didn’t last much, and soon enough it was put out of mind and they were all hanging around the living room watching Christmas specials, all on the too small couch. Eventually Kenma broke their comfortable almost silence, asking the question most people did. 

“So, do you always celebrate Christmas so traditionally?”

His mother (with her tattoos and short hair and not at all the traditional type) laughed and pulled the small crucifix from under her shirt with a knowing smile. 

“Christian.”

All of the others seemed somewhat surprised. Tetsurou sighed and proceeded to explain.

“Mom is on the hippie side of Christianity, the whole love everyone, be nice and kick assholes' asses. I don’t actually have a religion, though I was raised Christian.”  
They seemed surprised by it, but didn’t question much, which was bit of a relief. The story of why his mother had become a catholic was not the nicest and happiest story to be told in Christmas night. 

There wasn’t even time for uncomfortable silence, though, because the alarm for the food rang and everyone promptly began setting up the table and helping bring over the dishes. Everything looked so delicious, and even though it was a bit early, not long past eight, they all sat to eat dinner. His mother said her prayers, loud enough so they all could hear and perhaps Kuroo got a bit emotional, but it was probably just the wine. She talked about how she was glad to have Tetsurou in her life, to have all of them there. Tetsurou had never seen Bokuto so silent and concentrated in his life, which was really endearing, but then she was finished and he attacked the food like there was no tomorrow. He legit stole food from Kuroo’s plate, to which Kenma laughed, so Kuroo flipped him. They talked about lots of things, Akaashi told stories about his class and his mother told anecdotes about Tetsurou's childhood. 

Eventually, they all gathered around the tree to exchange gifts. 

“Mama Kuroo, we would have brought you gifts, but our Kuroo didn’t tell where we were headed until we were here.” Akaashi apologized, slurring slightly and giving Kuroo a pointed look. 

“Nah, that’s okay, darling.” She dismissed.

“I’ll start!” Bokuto got up and took some bags from the floor, handing them over with the biggest smile on his face.

Kuroo opened his gift and was not that surprised to find a cute shirt with a cat and the phrase _you’re purrfect_. He threw his head back, didn't even try not to laugh. Kenma got a similar one, but his said _pawsome_. Akaashi’s had a cute owl with a text balloon: _Hoo loves you?_

“You better have bought yourself one of those too, Bokuto, or life won’t be as funny,”

His friend beamed a smile and gave them thumbs up. 

“I owlbviously did.”

“I kmew you had.”

“By the gods, stop.” Kenma groaned. 

“Why be so owlffended by it, Kenma?” Hearing Akaashi make puns was both the most amazing and the most shocking thing in Kuroo’s life. Bokuto actually jumped on the other, hugging him tightly. 

Kenma got up from his spot and grabbed some boxes, almost looking annoyed. He shoved them onto each of his roommates arms, and it would've seemed careless if the packages weren’t so neatly wrapped. Bokuto ripped his open in five seconds and beamed at a book about photography. Akaashi’s one was a political thriller. Kuroo opened his very carefully, and found much to his delight a complete edition of Shakespeare’s poems. All three of them got up to hug their tiny blond, who didn’t say a word, just looked down with a blush. They let go of each other and sat together on the couch, Akaashi remained on his feet and grabbed a few packages to hand over.

Kenma opened his first and seemed pleased by a series of things he’d been in need of: a new motion pen for his Ds, headphones and fingerless gloves. Kuroo opened his and found a new notebook, a new wallet (red fake leather, awesome) and some really cute earrings. It was very Akaashi-like to give out gifts he knew were actually needed. Bokuto’s gifts were socks with owls on them, a hairband and a Netflix pre-paid card. They all thanked in unison, and Akaashi gave a little smile before dropping back on the floor. 

Now his turn, Kuroo got up and made his round, finally including his mother. His gifts weren’t as cool or as appropriate as the others, and he sort of felt self conscious about it, but he didn’t say it out loud. His mother got hers first and smiled at him while reading his card.

“A ticket for any cheesy film you want to watch and the promise of not complaining about it.”

Bokuto opened his and smiled so wide he could barely speak.

“An afternoon going to visit that Owl Café you speak so much about. And as many kisses as you want.”

Akaashi opened his next and remained aloof as always, but there was definitely a grin tugging at the corner of his lip. 

“A quiet evening just listening to the music you like and drinking cheap wine. A shoulder to cry on if you need.” 

Kenma was the last, and didn't read his out loud. It was a promise of friendship and support, after all he couldn’t offer them much more than that right now. 

“That’s soo cheesy but so cool of you, Kuroo.” Bokuto added. 

“Ooh, you love it, don’t lie.”

\--

He was a very bad, bad person. He would definitely burn in Hell if there was such a thing.

Kuroo had been frozen up for the last five minutes, unable to move, and from where he was he couldn’t be seen by the two people currently causing such disturbance on his life. 

Bokuto Koutarou and Akaashi Keiji. 

Heavily making out on their living room couch.

And by heavily, Kuroo actually meant very heavy. Like, Akaashi’s hand was inside Bokuto’s gym pants and Bokuto’s hands were both on Akaashi’s ass pressing him closer. They would sometimes moan and it was the filthiest thing Kuroo had ever listened to. 

He was so aroused by it that it wasn’t even funny. 

He was a terrible person. He should have walked out, he should have stopped this madness before he was hard and pressing his hand to his mouth so he wouldn’t let out any noise. He knew they'd kissed, but he had always thought it had been just that one time. Kuroo had been very wrong it seemed. Some twisted part of him wanted to be in the middle of them, wanted to have Bokuto’s muscles and Akaashi’s fingers touching him. If they saw him like this, though, all the perfect harmony they had built would be gone forever. 

He reminded himself of his own words. _It’s all casual._

Somewhere between walking hand in hand with Bokuto and having late night talks with Akaashi he may have let a little bit of feelings build up. Which he definitely shouldn’t have. He knew it was childish and stupid and would obviously end up in pain. Yet he had, because playing make believe was just too nice. If he could punch himself he would. 

It became even worse when he felt he was being watched and turned to indeed find Kenma looking at him, leaning his shoulder against the door frame. 

The situation was getting more fucked up by the minute. Where would this end? The apartment would catch on fire and they would all die? He wouldn’t get accepted into college? Maker knows what Kenma was thinking about him right then, probably that he was some sort of pervert. The thing was, having Kenma watch him made him feel even hotter. 

His friend’s catlike eyes were basically shinning on the darkness, and suddenly he motioned for Kuroo to come closer. 

He was so nervous, moving on the shadows of the room like a fucking criminal (note to self: talk to Akaashi about how easy it was to sneak around their house). He got to their door and entered, closing it softly behind them. Kenma kept staring at his erection, which honestly felt kinda creepy after some time.

“You sure like watching people.”

“Shut up, Kenma.”

Kenma came closer, kissing Kuroo, and he might have moaned just from the contact. 

No matter how sick or stupid he was, it seemed Kenma would always have his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About the last part: Bokuto and Akaashi are making out on the couch, Akaashi giving him a hand job. Kuroo sees them (which they do not notice) and gets aroused, Kenma finds him like that and pulls him into their room for some kisses (we consider Kenma ace in this fic btw).
> 
> Hope y'all liked it and stick around, because there is only one chapter left!  
> many kisses  
> -jana


	4. How to tell your boyfriends you are dating by Kozume Kenma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LAST CHAPTER! I'm feeling so emotional right now, completing works is very hard for us, but we did it!  
> Hope y'all enjoy it :)

Kozume Kenma was a really patient person most of the time. 

Right now, though? He had lost all of his immense patience. He'd actually just hung up in the middle of a conversation with his mother. She was good intentioned and wanted to protect him, but it was completely out of hand. They had chosen which would be his apartment, even which major he would get. They had Kenma’s whole life planned, and he hated it. 

Truth be told, he hadn’t always hated it. When he was younger it had been easy not having to bother about things. Right now, though, he couldn’t deal with that anymore. It was too much pressure, nothing he did was ever enough. 

He'd finally made the call to do something with his life. He had managed to get his gaming app approved, it was doing great in sales, so he actually had his money and didn’t need theirs anymore. He had called to tell them that, which had ended up in a fight. Kenma really didn’t have the patience for that. 

He was actually pretty fucking annoyed. He hadn’t felt this way since Bokuto had broken his black Wiimote (he'd really liked his black Wiimote). 

He texted Kuroo and Bokuto saying he wouldn’t meet them for the movie they had planned, not in the mood to watch anything after all that. Instead, he walked home, not even playing on his cellphone on the way. His mother was probably texting him every ten seconds to complain about his attitude and he really didn’t want to hear it. He opened the door to their apartment and closed it with a kick after getting in. He was going to play something like Saints Row right now, just baseless killing people. Yeah, that sounded good. 

“Why such a bad mood?” Came Akaashi’s voice from the kitchen. 

“Not in a bad mood.” He replied softly, obviously lying off his teeth. Or at least that obvious to him. 

He kicked off his shoes and headed to the living room, then flopped onto the couch. He grabbed a cushion and put it over his face, and he wanted to shout, but it just wasn’t something he _could_ do. He just didn’t do this sort of thing. When he finally had the strength to take the cushion off his face, he looked up to find Akaashi staring at him. 

“What?” Kenma mumbled. 

“You are mad.” 

He was getting angrier by the second, actually. And his cellphone wouldn’t stop vibrating on his pocket. 

“I’m not.” 

Akaashi arched an eyebrow at his answer. Kenma just turned away with a pout, not that he would admit it. Akaashi patted his hair absent mindedly and Kenma stared at him. 

“Tell me what happened, Kenma.” 

“Nothing happened. Why would something happen?” 

“You tell me.” 

And that annoyed Kenma so much, so damn much. Akaashi’s pretty face and calm were quite irritating, his mother pissed him off, the fact nothing ever worked the way he wanted was a pain in the ass. 

He just stared at Akaashi and didn't do a thing for a while. How long had they been dancing around each other? It almost felt like years. He had kissed Bokuto and Kuroo, but not, which he would be totally cool with rectifying. 

So he sat up, and pulled Akaashi to a kiss. A rough kiss, with maybe too much energy. He wasn’t like this, not in his day to day, but he just had to let his frustration out somehow. Akaashi kissed him back, fingers intertwined in his hair. He wanted to pull him closer and make him moan, he wanted so much to do so many things to Akaashi. Kenma bit Keiji's lower lip and let his hands wander underneath the black shirt. His roommate slid next to Kenma, legs thrown over his. 

Everything was so intense Kenma honestly got a little light headed. When he finally moved away a bit, their breaths both irregular and mixing (it was a luck that they had a decent breath, or else this might've been quite awkward). Akaashi caressed his hair e they kissed some more.   
That was until they heard a crash, and both of them turned to find Bokuto and Kuroo standing by the doorway. 

Kenma couldn’t avoid thinking of the parallels to the moment with Kuroo last week. The thing was, though, that the two of them didn’t seem that functional right now. Bokuto soon babbled apologies before running out the door. Kuroo just did gun fingers at the door and moved away to the room, blushing redder than his shirt. 

And Kenma had this nagging feeling on the back of his head that this was gonna come to bite him later. 

-

They were all fucking idiots. 

Kenma had thought he was dealing with grown men, but he couldn’t be more wrong. 

Ever since Kuroo and Bokuto had walked in on him and Akaashi, the beautiful dynamic they'd had in their apartment was completely fucked up. Things had been going so smoothly before that. He liked casual relationships, they were simple and didn’t require much emotional investment. He liked being able to kiss Kuroo and Akaashi whenever he wanted, liked cuddling with Bokuto. 

Now, though, he didn’t have any of it. 

Kuroo for one was acting like they couldn’t kiss anymore, had literally dodged Kenma when he'd tried that morning. He had made up a very stupid excuse, something about having to go to work, which he totally didn’t, Kenma knew all his shifts, and he didn’t have any at that moment. Kenma hadn't called him out on it, because he didn’t want to be too pushy. 

Then he tried asking Akaashi for kisses (because he really felt like kissing at the moment). The other had blushed and muttered something about having lots of works for college. They were in recess, he couldn’t possibly have anything to do, but Kenma didn’t point that out either.   
At last there was Bokuto of all people, who wasn’t cuddling in line anymore. He actually avoided touching Kenma in public now, which was completely ridiculous, especially for him. Kenma tried asking him about it, but Bokuto just threw his hands in the air and ran away. 

This was all ridiculous and Kenma hated all of them. 

The worst part was that he knew they cared about him, and it wasn’t even a matter of letting go of him in favor of each other, because they weren’t touching each other either. Bokuto and Kuroo weren’t hanging around as much as they used to, Akaashi and Bokuto didn’t go shopping together anymore and there were no more late night talks between Akaashi and Kuroo. 

He couldn’t really get what was wrong. As far as he knew, they all had been kind of dating casually. All a nice and unspoken agreement, because some things only needed to be felt, not spoken. Kuroo’s mother had asked Kenma about it when they visited for Christmas, and he'd shrugged and said that if the others ever wanted this to become a relationship he would be down for it, he just didn’t think they did. 

Now he could see the error of his ways. 

These idiots probably didn’t think that being in a relationship that involved all four of them was an option.

He had been trying to give indirect hints, had more than left his computer on the living room with texts about polyamorous relationships open, would comment on how Fallout 4 was good for letting you love all the companions at the same time. They still didn’t get it. 

Kenma had, for the love of Arceus, talked about how all love triangles could be solved with healthy poly relationships. Akaashi had frowned at him and shrugged. 

This had been lasting for two whole weeks. 

He should do something about it, because it was, as previously said, getting ridiculous. 

Kenma still kept delaying the matter, though, because some part of him hoped they would all figure it out by themselves soon enough. 

\--

He could tell there was something wrong with this.

Hinata and Yachi had been a little too forceful on scheduling this meeting. If he didn’t know any better, he would say they were angry at him.

He hadn’t done anything to earn that, though. 

As he said goodbye to his roommates before leaving they were all as weird as lately. Kenma wanted to punch them all, but instead he just grabbed his things and headed to the burger shop where his friends were waiting for him. He was surprisingly the last to get there. Hitoka, Shouyou and even his boyfriend were all waiting for him, dressed in black..? Kenma sat on the only available chair, across from them, feeling very uncomfortable. He couldn’t stare at them, so he just looked down and fidgeted. 

“So, good afternoon?” He muttered.

“ _Good Afternoon_ , that’s all you have to say?” Hitoka asked in what was supposed to be her threatening tone, but she actually just sounded scared. Not that he would point that out.

“Yes?” He replied, looking up at them for any clue about what was going on. 

Shouyou crossed his arms over his chest. That wasn't very threatening either.

“Really, Kenma, I expected more from you.” 

He was confused, so fucking confused. He frowned and kept his silence waiting for more information, because he really didn’t understand what his friends were saying or what could have made them so upset. He honestly couldn’t think of anything, he was overall too quiet too achieve that. 

“What have I done?” He finally asked, as they just kept glaring. 

“You are cheating on Bokuto!” Shouyou shouted.

“No! He’s cheating on Kuroo!” Hitoka’s voice was surprisingly loud as well. 

And everyone in the burger shop was staring at them, well, mostly at him. Kenma felt his cheeks heating up and his eyes widening. 

“Where did you guys take that idea from?”

Shouyou actually huffed.

“I see you and Bokuto together in the coffee line _every day_. I had never seen you letting anyone to get so close to you, like, cuddling and everything! But then he has been so down theses days, and like, there are no more photos of you guys being happy together, no more photos of him and Kuroo either. I asked him why, and you know what he said?”

“That he's too stupid?” He muttered, and Kageyama gaped at him, but Kenma didn't have time to explain himself.

“That after he saw you and Akaashi kissing he just couldn't anymore.” 

That actually hurt a bit. Hitoka didn't let him give any answer before chiming in, though.

“And Kuroo, Kuroo has been acting all weird. I haven’t seen him smiling as he used to, and he let that asshole of a customer get the best of him the other day. He is so sad. And well, I managed to convince him to speak about it, and his feelings and stuff. And he told me he didn’t want to get in the way of relationships, because you and _Akaashi_ were a great couple.”

“So not only were you dating the two of them, you cheated on both of them with Akaashi.”   
Kageyama declared, staring at Kenma as if he was an unknown creature.

The other two nodded very seriously, and Kenma didn’t know where to begin. 

“That would be the case _if_ I was dating any of them. Which, as a matter of fact, I’ve repeatedly told you that I’m not.” 

He wanted to be, though. He would be so glad if he was. Shouyou, Hitoka and Kageyama cocked their heads to the side in synchrony. Obviously, they hadn’t listened the first one hundred times he told them that. 

“You aren’t?”

“No. They wanted to keep things casual.” 

Kenma asked the poor waitress for a big milk shake then, because now he needed some support and he wasn't getting it from any human around. 

“It didn’t look casual.” Shouyou insisted, sounding like a spoiled brat, to be honest. 

“Believe me, I know.”

Suddenly, though, Hitoka was holding back sobs. Kenma stared at her, terrified he had done something to make his friend cry. She had tears running down he face and he didn't know what to do but offer her his milk shake. 

“It’s so sad. You all like each other, and want to be together, but you are not. And everyone is suffering and I judged things too quickly.” 

Kenma sighed in relief that he hadn’t actually been the one to make her cry, the whole situation had. He wanted to say it was okay, that he wanted to cry too, if only because he was so tired of their bullshit. Kageyama patted her head, not very successfully trying to calm her down, and Kenma handed her a tissue so she could dry her face. She eventually calmed down enough to thank them. 

“You gotta do something about it, Kenma! You guys are, like, my biggest ship!” Shouyou's determination was scary. 

He sighed and laid his head on the table. 

“I know.”

He really did. 

“Have you tried, you know, talking to them about it?” Tobio asked, and Kenma glared at him. 

“It took you six months to ask Shouyou on a date because you thought you didn’t have a chance, I don’t think you get a say on this.”

Kageyama blushed fiercely and looked away doing his pout thing, Shouyou went full on laughing at his boyfriend’s embarrassment, and Hitoka even seemed really collected in the middle of them. Kenma was now really thinking, though, and coming up with a plan. 

A plan to show his favorite idiots that which was standing right at their faces. 

\--

Everything was finally done. 

It had taken Kenma two days and a lot of patience to get everything he needed. It had taken almost the double of that time to convince his roommates to accept gaming night again. They had all been so scared of expending quality time together, like it was some sort of spell that might unleash their deepest, darkest impulses or whatever. 

It was only a matter of the right amount of kitty eyes to make sure. Bokuto was the easiest to convince, just two seconds and a ‘please’ and he was down for it. Kuroo and Akaashi were a bit harder, but they too were convinced in the end anyway. He was sort of thankful they all had been acting like idiots and avoiding him like the plague, because then hiding what he was planning wasn’t actually that hard. 

He set everything up, his computer connected to the tv, a few snacks and the actual _printed_ hand-outs. 

He had printed things. There were papers on the desk that he had printed and weren’t for a class. Kenma was amazed at himself.

He waited as patiently as he could, playing on his cellphone until all three of them were sitting on the couch. 

“Well, I’m gonna throw a wide guess there and say we are not playing games tonight?” Kuroo eventually asked, seeming really uncomfortable. 

“You’re such a genius, Kuroo.” Akaashi deadpanned. 

“Well, Kenma could be giving a lecture about some game he really likes but has an incredibly complex plot.” 

Kenma had to admit that was indeed a good guess, but not even close this time. He handed over the papers and started the presentation. 

_Polyamorous Relationships  
Or: Why are we not dating yet?_

They all immediately blushed at the title, and didn't seem to know quite how to react to it.   
“Please, look at your hand outs graphics.” He started, not able to look at them while he spoke, just staring at the tv. He hated presentations, he hated speaking to groups, though speaking to them was not as uncomfortable as he had believed it would be. 

“For starters, I wanna give my definition of polyamory, not the Wikipedia one, even though I don’t dislike it. It is having a relationship with multiple consensual partners at the same time, in which everyone is aware they are in a relationship.” 

He moved on to the next slide that contained two questions: “Why are you doing this presentation?” And “Isn’t it the same as having a ‘casual’ relationship?”  
“First: no, it's not the same as a casual relationship. Casual implies there are no feelings of attachment or those don’t play that much of a role. If you are in a polyamorous relationship, you are in a relationship, feelings are involved, it’s not just someone who you have sex with sometimes, it’s someone you care about.” 

He stared at them, trying to remain calm. Akaashi seemed to have got his point and so did Kuroo, but what surprised him the most was Bokuto, Bokuto smiling openly and nodding. 

“Go on, Kenma.”

“Why am doing this presentation? Because even though you guys claim what you have amongst each other - and with me - is completely casual, what you want is _not_ a casual relationship at all. Please take a look at the graphic in your hand outs there is one with the title: pros and cons of us being in a relationship. You will see the only con I could find was ‘do four people fit in a bed?’ while the pros listed could barely fit the page.” 

They honest to the gods giggled, and then Akaashi suggested very calmly that a cuddle pile would probably fix their issue. Kenma continued making his points, though, mentioning historical relationships with more than two people involved (those which were healthy, for fuck sakes, he would never put an unhealthy relationship in that list). In the end he had three pairs of dopey eyes focused on him, and couldn't possibly keep from blushing. 

“So, my proposal is… We all date?” 

Kenma was shocked when Bokuto grabbed him and actually _lifted_ him in the air, like only he could without embarrassment. Kuroo then came to hug them both, Akaashi right along, and Kenma smiled sheepishly. 

“Can I take that as a yes?”

“Obviously!” 

It was all a bit too much on the sappy side, and he would be calling them out on it, if he wasn’t so busy patting his new boyfriends' hair. 

No way he could've hoped for a better closure when he'd first realized he was crushing on these idiots. 

\--

They were going on a date. 

Well, Kenma considered they had all gone on dates before, but Akaashi insisted they needed a first ‘official’ one. Something to tell people when they asked about their first date. 

Anyway, before they went to a date, they had to get out of bed. They were all currently on Bokuto’s room, laying together (a couple bed definitely was enough for four people to sleep on if they cuddle, good to know). Kenma had woken up not long ago, his head resting on Kuroo’s chest, leg thrown over his. Bokuto was spooning him, this big warm shirtless presence. Akaashi was surprisingly quite expansive, and was actually laid over Kenma Kuroo. He couldn’t help but smile looking at all of them, so happy and peaceful. It almost didn’t look like they were a bunch of idiots that had taken over six months to realize this was possible. He brushed his fingertips over Bokuto's arm, and thought about how these calm moments were what he lived for. 

So obviously it was interrupted. 

Bokuto’s alarm – something to do with ‘I’m a birb motherfucker, I’m a birb’ – rang loudly, startling everyone. Akaashi straight up whailed and kinda frantically pressed the sneeze button on the iphone. Bokuto obviously was already sitting up and smiling – the fucker was such a morning person. Kuroo shifted a bit as well, much to Kenma’s distaste. 

“Good morning, everyone!” 

Kenma didn’t even bother replying, but Kuroo did sit up as well, making his head bump onto the mattress. Kuroo wasn’t exactly awake either, was more of a sleepy zombie, eyes closed and back barely holding him up. Then the alarm rang again and finally both Akaashi and Kuroo woke up, the bastards. Keiji used the other as support, resting his chin on the muscle of his back. Bokuto came back to the room – Kenma hadn’t even noticed the other had been gone - and jumped on Akaashi, kissing him some times and then turning to Kenma to give him a peck on the lips too before turning to Kuroo.

“Come on, sleepy heads. We got a long day ahead of us.”

They did get up as asked, but enthusiasm certainly wouldn't describe their collective shuffle to the kitchen. Kenma used the time they took on breakfast to play a bit on his phone, they all knew his cooking abilities were limited to playing Cooking Mama. He watched on the corner of his eye as they worked together, another little thing he enjoyed so much. During those three weeks of relationship his boyfriends had learned not to be so self-conscious of their affection to each other – not to say that sometimes they wouldn't stop making out if someone was watching, but they had gotten a lot better in most things. Later rather than sooner, breakfast was ready and they all sat at the table to eat together. 

“So, what did you plan for us to do today, Bokuto?” Akaashi asked, his voice still grumpy. 

He got a prolonged stare and blinking in return. 

“Hum?” 

“You said you had some great ideas for today, so I let you in charge.” Akaashi didn’t even seem fazed by the fact Bokuto probably hadn’t planned anything after all. 

Koutarou, on the other hand, freaked out. He fell to his knees on the ground, pulling his own hair while wailing, and they couldn’t even bring themselves to be surprised by it. While Bokuto wasn’t looking, the three of them exchanged glances. Akaashi mouthed a please to Kuroo, who just winked and moved to pat a muscular shoulder. 

“Hey, Bokuto? 

“Whaaat?” 

“Isn’t there a show today on that restaurant you like, for a fundraiser? With comedians and everything? I thought you had showed me the poster.” 

Bokuto looked up at him with shining eyes and slowly calmed down. 

“Yeah, there is. Kenma, can you buy tickets online?” 

He nodded and proceeded to do it – okay, pretend to do it, he had already reserved four tickets for the event, just in case. 

“The show is only at six pm, though.” 

“We can take a stroll before, so I can show off the prettiest boyfriends in the world. I’m such a great boyfriend!” He declared, at last back to a great mood. 

“That doesn’t seem very date like.” Kenma replied, mostly because he really hated the idea of being shown off. 

“We could drop by work, they let people pet kittens and puppies, I guess that would be nice.” 

Then all of them had to perk up, because Kenma really wasn't a morning person, or a pet enthusiast at that, but kittens and puppies were special. Also, he shouldn't be grumpy anyway, it was actually almost one pm now – he knew he was being a bit of an asshole, but they had fallen asleep at like six in the morning (between sex and talking and cuddling and Kenma finishing his playthrough of a Fairy Tail game). 

“We have to get ready, then.” Kuroo reminded them. 

They all nodded and proceeded to pretend they were responsible adults, perhaps not that responsible since Kenma spend a good forty minutes taking care of all his phone games (the usual collecting resources and sending characters to do eight hour missions). For some reason he decided to put on the shirt Bokuto had given him for Christmas. When he left the room he met up with Kuroo – who was also wearing his Christmas shirt. 

“Looking good, Kenma.” He complimented with a smile before leaning in and giving Kenma a peck on the lips. 

He looked down and blushed, which Kuroo would guess anyway.

“We are wearing the shirts.”

“Yes, apparently we are all dorks.” 

“No, you are.”

“You _did_ put on the dorky shirt, though.”

“So perhaps I should change.” He wouldn’t, he really didn’t mean it. It was adorable that they were wearing matching t-shirts. They went together to the living room where Akaashi was sitting on the couch, and Kenma wasn’t even surprised to see him wearing his shirt as well. He raised an eyebrow and smiled at them, so sweetly that Kenma might have smiled back. 

They both dropped next to him and waited around some more for Bokuto, who then left his room smiling openly in his own cheesy shirt. He stared at them and smiled even wider before jumping on them and distributing kisses, genuinely happy they were all a bunch of idiots wearing matching t-shirts. This was so cliché, good gods. 

“We can’t possibly leave like this.” Kuroo mock complained, smirking. “I have a reputation to maintain.”

“What reputation? You left home in Bokuto’s basketball shirt and your pink leggings the other day.” Kenma shot back, and Kuroo sort of glared at him, but only for a moment before smiling again. 

“I suppose we can leave now.” Akaashi declared getting up. 

Walking around on the street was uncomfortable, not because he wasn’t proud of his boyfriends and such, but because so many people stared. Sometimes Kuroo threw his arm over some of them, Bokuto also sometimes would hold their hand for no clear reason. Kenma usually looked down when other people passed by, tried to focus on his phone or in looking away from the pictures Bokuto insisted on taking – everyone that followed him on instagram (a bit over 2.5k people last time he checked) was being bombed by photos of their relationship, it seemed. 

It took them twenty minutes or so to get to the Vet by subway. As Kuroo walked in, Lev who was sitting behind the counter perked up and waved in excitement. 

“Kuroo! Kenma!” He went to them first, because for some awful reason this kid had taken more than a shine to them. Kenma knew him from High School, which was dreadful. The boy then turned to the other two of the group. “You two! Bokuto and Akaashi right? Are you guys dating yet?”

Kenma wanted so much for Lev to stop existing right now. Specially because Bokuto had this smug look on his face, and before Kuroo could stop him (Kenma could only assume his pride was getting in the way) he declared in his usual excitement. 

“Yes!”

The guy just beamed and started asking questions, mainly to Kenma who just flipped him and turned to Kuroo.

“Where are the cute pets?”

Lev finally took them to the shelter like area in the back, and all of them proceeded to make use of cuddly time with pets. Kenma was big on Neko Atsume, but he had never been around that many cats in his life. It was really refreshing, actually, because they weren’t demanding of his attention. Bokuto had found dogs, older dogs, young dogs, there were so many dogs and it was hard to see who was happier. Akaashi rested next to Kenma, scratching the cats and smiling softly. Kuroo moved from one place to the other, the dogs adored him and the cats actually climbed on him with no ceremony. They were just killing time, but it was a great way to see them all happy and relaxed, even if they did have Lev asking impertinent questions through the entire time. They spent a little over one hour there, before not even his games and cats and Akaashi holding him could stop the annoyance brought on by a prying brat. Kuroo got them out of there, Lev repeating about fifteen times that ‘I’ve told you so’. 

“So we still have about three and a half hours to the fundraiser. What do you guys wanna do now?” 

The rest of the day was kinda dizzying. He could tell they had gone to grab some sweets to eat and went around some stores – he vaguely remembered someone putting a beanie with cat ears on him and taking selfies. He should probably have paid more attention, but he had so many things to do at his game that he just allowed himself to be dragged up and down. He did get lost once when they were inside a clothing store, but Kuroo found him soon enough. 

Eventually they got to the restaurant in question. Bokuto sure was excited, the show would have a bunch of things he liked – comedians, a band – and the place had the best barbecue in town, or at least that was his opinion. They got a booth, and much to Kenma’s delight he could sit near the corner and almost fuse himself with the wall. Akaashi sat next to him, as Kuroo and Bokuto both got the places that gave them better view of the stage. Kenma watched as they talked about the performances to come, all excited and smiling and teasing, and felt comfortable despite all around them. Akaashi glanced over at him while Kuroo was telling Bokuto to eat more fish for his brain or something, and whispered.

“They sure are excited about this date, aren’t they?”

“I suppose so.” They indeed were and it was sort of-

“It’s very endearing, don’t you think?” Keiji’s voice was low enough that only he could listen, and Kenma turned to see him smiling softly, then leaned in to give him a peck on the lips. He had almost forgot that this was a date, that he could do this sort of thing if he wanted to. An audible ‘owwn’ came from the other side of the table, as his two other boyfriends watched them with a weird shine in their eyes. 

Kuroo’s big hand messed his hair and he almost wanted to go over there and just cuddle with him, but that would be too much. It would attract too much attention. 

They soon asked for their food and drinks. Krnma was even feeling slightly daring, so he ordered a beer. The shows started and he would every once in a while look up from his phone to watch it, he also clapped when everyone else did so and perhaps he might have taken some photos of his boyfriends and snapchatted them to Shouyou. 

There was a point in the night though, he couldn’t tell _how_ it happened, it just did. He and Kuroo were distracted, since the other had slid over when Akaashi went to the bathroom and was giving insights to Kenma’s game while nuzzling his hair. 

“Where is Bokuto?” Akaashi asked upon coming back. 

Before either of them could say a word though, a very drunk and very familiar voice could be heard from the speakers. 

“Hey hey hey! Good evening everyone. I just wanted to get up here to tell my boyfriends how much I love them.” They all turned to face Bokuto, who could barely stand on the stage. “And tell them how much it means to me that all four of us are together, I feel like the luckiest man alive. And I know you guys think I’m the best thing since sliced bread.” 

Kenma couldn’t handle it, he slid carefully until only his eyes were visible above the table. He liked Bokuto at lot, but that didn’t meant that sometimes the other wasn't a bit too much for him. Besides, Kuroo was already cheering and Akaashi was politely applauding. Their weirdly haired boyfriend came running to them and pulled them all on a hug – well, he mostly fell over Kuroo to get Kenma and Akaashi one in each arm. People were looking at them and clapping and all Kenma could mutter was: ‘I want to go home now.’ It was a bit too much having everyone looking at them, and he was pretty sure he couldn’t blend in with the wall anymore right now.

And perhaps the weirdest part was that no one was angry with that, even drunk Bokuto just nodded. They paid their bill, waved at everyone and left, Kenma hiding his face on Kuroo’s obnoxious cargo coat as they did. 

They took a cab back home, all four somehow fitting onto the back seat. At some point Kuroo kissed his forehead, the whispered.

“Was it a good first date?” 

Kenma shrugged and whispered a reply, trying not to wake Bokuto and Akaashi who had fallen asleep next to them. 

“I suppose so, I’d have to gather more info in dates to be sure.”

Kuroo laughed softly against his hair.

“That was surprisingly smooth, Kenma.” 

He didn’t let anyone see how pleased he actually was with that.

\--

His parents had been so disappointed when he told them he was dating his roommates, so fucking disappointed. Akaashi’s parents didn’t know, because no one felt like looking for another place to live, and Bokuto’s parents hadn’t even seemed to pay attention to it when he told them, just dismissed like another one of his crazy ideas. 

There was still one parent they wanted to tell, and that according to Kenma’s analyzes would actually be supportive.

So they invited Kuroo’s mom for some coffee with them at their apartment. 

All of them were nervous, wandering around the place trying to make sure everything looked nice. Bokuto and Kenma even tried to prepare a pie - it should be simple just following the instructions, yet they had managed to burn it and it tasted very wrong even besides that. The second attempt had fortunately been slightly better. 

Kuroo seemed to be the one person around there who was actually chill, the bastard. 

“I don’t know why you guys are so nervous, she already knows you all. It’s not like you can make a better first impression, she already loves you guys.” 

“But she doesn’t know we are banging her son.” Akaashi shot back, rubbing his hands together. 

Kuroo rolled his eyes, but their doorbell rang before he could reply. Bokuto rushed past them, opening the door with a gigantic smile in his lips. Kuroo was right behind him, trying to act nonchalant but obviously delighted. 

“Mother! What a surprise!” 

“Your friends wanted to see me, since my ungrateful son hadn’t actually invited me to visit his apartment.” 

Bokuto shook her hand with a bit too much gusto, and Kenma knew he would have the hardest time keeping to their agreed upon timing, so he quietly nudged Akaashi and gestured for him to intervene. Keiji stepped closer and sort of guided Kuroo’s mother to a small tour of their apartment, and Kuroo followed them, now seeming actually quite anxious. 

Bokuto was jumping in place, and Kanme tried his best to not just give up and lock himself in his room. It was so fucking troublesome. He tried to think of this as a videogame level, like one of those puzzles that shouldn’t be that hard.

Eventually they all sat around the table, drinking tea and coffee and making small talk. That was until Kuroo held his mother's hand, changing the mood along his expression. 

“Mama, I sort of got to tell you something-“

“I actually also have to tell you something.” 

Kuroo gulped, as surprised as them, and told his mother to say her news first. His mother didn’t budge, though. So a very nervous – something so rare to see – Kuroo took a deep breath and spoke as calmly as he could. 

“So, you know how you are always asking me when I’ll date someone and introduce them to you and stuff? So… Mom, these are my boyfriends, I think you know them already.” 

She looked from her son to each of them, and Kenma couldn’t tell if he should be terrified or tense or just overall wanting to hide. However, after a couple moments she beamed a smile and grabbed her cellphone.

“Ukai owes me a fucking bottle of sake. I _told_ him you guys would be in a relationship! It was part wishful thinking, granted, but god I’m so happy for you guys! I’m glad you told me, darling.” 

Not that Kenma would make this comment, but he felt like the air in the room was suddenly lighter. They'd been craving for a response like this, to be honest, because at least _someone_ had to not be an asshole about it and accept them without a fuss. 

They talked for a while after that, until Keiji chimed in, his tone curious. 

“You said you had to say something yourself, K-”

“You can call me Mother if you want.” She remarked, looking smug. 

“Please don’t call her mom, she is gonna say I’m fucking my brothers.” 

As they all laughed, Kuroo’s mother reached into her bag and handed an envelop to Kuroo.

“You put my address instead of yours in some forms, it seems. It arrived this morning.”

The letter was hastily opened, and Kenma didn’t need to see what was written on it, the way Kuroo’s face lit up and Bokuto's squealing were indication enough. Still it felt so very satisfying when Tetsurou annouced it out loud.

“I got into college!”

As much as Kenma hated these too cuddly and too nice things, it just was the moment to a massive group hug and some kisses. This had turned out to be a really great day after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is it, comments?
> 
> I wanna thank everyone who has been leaving encouragement since the begining, it really meant the world to us  
> This fic was fun and challenging at the same time, and we are so proud to have finished it. Hope it made you happy as well, dear reader :)
> 
> many kisses  
> -jana


End file.
